


Dulcinea

by Bravehardt, Foxglove_Fiction



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Dubious Consent, M/M, Misunderstandings, Post-War, Slavery, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Violence, marital discord
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:40:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 63,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25582993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bravehardt/pseuds/Bravehardt, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxglove_Fiction/pseuds/Foxglove_Fiction
Summary: War has been waging between the Magi of Vishan and the Iron Empire for decades, since long before Tony was born. The Iron Empire has had the Magi on the back foot for almost two years, but a recent battle ended with Emperor Howard Stark poisoned, with no known cure. Howard's final wish on his deathbed was to see the communion of both his Empire and the Vishanti, but with his reign coming to an unexpected and inevitable end, Tony is left to pick up the mantle of leadership for an empire he simply wasn’t ready to helm.Enter Master Stephen Strange, an heir to Vishan summoned in offering to appease the Iron empire and tie the two countries together. Though Stephen isn’t wholly on board with the notion, and Tony isn’t wholly serious about his decision, simply looking to survive and hopefully keep the empire from falling into civil unrest within and without.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 207
Kudos: 206





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Phew! It's been a while since we had something new for you guys, huh? We've had this one planned out for a bit but took our time with it to iron stuff out. The current plan is to update on Wednesdays, but here's a slightly early upload of the first chapter!

It was either a parade or an execution, judging by the way people were reacting.

He didn't see the carriage pull up. He didn't see the four magi heirs exit or hear more than the clamour outside the doors that heralded their arrival. Instead, Anthony Edward Stark the Emperor of Iron, sat on his throne atop the dais quietly as the throne room doors opened and those within descended into a hush.

The heirs walked single file in silence as they entered, led by a short, stout bald man with a serious expression - the only one among them without irons on, and thus the one Tony's guards reacted to most strongly. He bowed respectfully as he reached the end of the walkway before stepping aside.

Behind him followed an older man - in his sixties, if Tony had to guess - with curly hair and a salt and pepper beard. His green robes were elegant and sophisticated, accented with an abundance of silver and stunning sapphires that caught the light in a way that left Tony wondering if they'd been enchanted. Brown eyes met brown and the man bowed.

"Master Sol Rama, heir to the throne of Vishan," the attendant introduced simply, and Tony inclined his head to the man briefly, watching him adjust the irons on his wrists before moving to the left.

The man who followed him wore rather practical looking tan robes, and the silver and rubies stood in stark contrast to the man's dark skin and sharp eyes. He was no less adorned than the previous man, though Tony took a moment to admire the clear fitness of the man with his bared biceps on display. Not unlike the man before him, the gentleman bowed politely, though a little lower than the first - Tony assumed it was a product of age and fitness.

"Master Daniel Drumm, heir to the throne of Vishan," the attendant stated again, and with Tony's nod of understanding, he took his place on the opposite side of the aisle from Master Rama.

Following him, previously entirely concealed behind the broad form of Master Drumm, came a small, willowy woman, with eyes the shape and colour of almonds. Her robes appeared longer and more dress-like than the former heirs, in a rich magenta colour that was accented by the gold and diamond-studded jewellery she wore. The irons were much more obvious on her as Tony found he couldn't simply pretend they were part of her jewellery.

She smiled politely at him and gave a graceful bow as the attendant introduced her, "Master Tina Minoru, heir to the throne of Vishan."

Tony offered a nod and the woman stepped to the left leaving the last of the heirs to step forward.

Though not as tall as Master Drumm, there was a particular elegance - a haughtiness, perhaps - in the way the last of the heirs carried himself. Black hair greyed at his temples, and bright eyes watched him, flickering in colour not unlike Master Rama’s sapphires, as the man in dark blue robes adorned with gold and emeralds approached the dais, bowing quietly and with a certain detachment.

"Master Stephen Strange," the attendant announced, "heir to the throne of Vishan. With that, all of the heirs of Vishan are present for your choosing."

Tony had barely nodded when the man in blue straightened, tucking his arms behind his back and looking around the room absently. The Emperor raised an eyebrow at that briefly before clearing his throat and getting to his feet.

"Thank you all for making such an arduous journey during these challenging times. The efforts that have gone into securing this peace have been seen and acknowledged, and I hope those of you who return to your home tomorrow will do so satisfied that we will uphold our agreement."

Frankly, Tony was exhausted by the whole concept of the war at this point. It had been ongoing since before his conception and, with his father on his deathbed, the soon-to-be Emperor had every hope that the war could be laid to rest with it. All he had asked in return was that one of the Magi heirs be exchanged for the peace - it couldn't be seen by his subjects to be a page that came without benefit, after all.

"Admittedly, I expected that the heirs of your kingdom would have some blood relation… it would seem that the decades of feuding has left knowledge unshared between our lands." Tony cast a brief glance at Pepper, and upon receiving a brief nod he continued.

"There is much I would like to discuss with each of you before making a final decision on who should stay with me, but after such a long trip I thought it might go better over a meal. Lunch has been served if you'd join us in the hall to the right…"

Lunch didn’t take long to set up for. Tony sat on one of the long sides of the table, and each of the heirs took up a seat opposite to him as Tony gestured for the attendant to sit beside him. “Do you have a name?”

“Wong, your Imperial Majesty.”

Tony took a deep breath at the title as he attempted to get used to it, before taking his seat and watching others slowly taking seats of their own. 

Food was laid out for each of them and Tony leaned back in his chair to take a look at each of the heirs across from him.

“I suppose it would be easy enough to ask each of you to tell me about yourselves,” he hummed softly, “but it wouldn’t be as much fun, would it? Why don’t each of you tell me about one of your companions? What are they known for, what are they good at, what kind of person are they?”

The heirs glanced at one another in uncertainty and Tony chuckled. “But before that… Master Wong, would you be so kind as to explain the situation of the heirs?”

“In what way, your Imperial Majesty?”

“I find it challenging to accept that these individuals are siblings, particularly given that their introductions included separate surnames…”

“The heirs of Vishan are not determined by birth. Ascension is not a birthright,” Wong clarified easily, “we believe that it brings us greater ease of life to determine who should ascend the throne by their skills and merits. As such, these are believed to be the four more competent individuals for the task.”

“How are such things determined?”

“Magic, your Imperial Majesty. The Ancient One selects her successors based on magic known only to her.”

“I see.” Tony looked across the table to the men and woman who sat quietly, not touching their food. It was only then that he realized he hadn’t begun to eat himself and took a small bite to start, before looking to Master Minoru.

“Master Minoru, would you be so kind as to tell me about one of your companions?”

“Of course, your Imperial Majesty,” she smiled warmly. “Anyone in particular?”

“Whoever you’d like to introduce,” he clarified with a smile.

“Master Sol Rama is currently best known for his aid of the orphans of Vishan,” she began thoughtfully. “Many have been displaced or rendered alone by the war, and Master Rama has been an exceptional aid in the efforts to help these peoples and reunite families who were separated. He runs several orphanages across the country. He is rather well-loved by the children he’s cared for, and he funds several enhanced learning facilities as well.”

It wasn’t as though Tony had been certain which of the heirs to keep with him, but the idea of taking a caretaker away from orphans who had already lost so much was more than sufficient to help him eliminate Master Rama from his options.

“Thank you for such an articulate assessment, Master Minoru. Master Rama, would you be so kind as to be the next to introduce someone?”

The man shifted in his seat, looking thoughtfully at his companions for a moment before smiling. “Master Strange is an impressively well-educated man with practical skills in both medicine and in magic. I’ve seen very few as dedicated to studies as Master Strange. His defensive abilities are some of the most advanced I’ve ever seen, and there are few as useful on a field of battle as he is where caring for injuries is concerned. I cannot imagine the lives he’s saved,” Master Rama spoke kindly in a warm tone. “He’s the kind of man who dedicates himself fully to whatever task he is set to.”

Tony’s gaze flicked over to the man in question who sat eating quietly and didn’t seem to have any desire to comment on that himself. He wouldn’t have pegged the blue-clad man as a healer or a bookly sort, but he could respect both of those in an individual for sure.

“Thank you for your insight, Master Rama. Master Strange, would you care to offer your own assessment of one of your comrades?”

The man took a moment to finish what he was eating, setting his utensils down delicately and looking straight at Tony without an ounce of hesitation.

“Master Drumm is an incredible physical fighter, and a commander anyone would be happy to have on the field. His discipline, control, and dedication to his craft are commendable by any standards, and his students have benefited immensely from his tutelage.” The magus watched him, unblinking as he finished speaking, and Tony offered a small smirk in return.

“Your respect for Master Drumm is duly-noted. Master Drumm, would you be so kind as to give your input on Master Minoru?”

“Master Minoru is a scholar and historian with very little compare. Her knowledge of the history of Vishan and the war has proven invaluable to many of her students, and I suspect her writings on the subject will benefit generations to come. She manages some of the largest archives of knowledge in Vishan, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished by anyone her age in centuries.”

“I see. Thank you all for your cooperation in this matter, I certainly feel as though I know all of you that much better, and this information will be valuable in helping me make a decision.”

“Make a decision?” Strange spoke up, and Tony glanced over to see the man watching him. “You haven’t already?”

“I do tend to prefer to take my time to come to those kinds of decisions. I will be taking time later tonight to discuss with my advisors the best choice for both the Iron Empire and Vishan to try and mend our ties moving forward. I will not be offended if none of you choose to unpack, I’ll make my announcement on that decision tomorrow morning,” Tony smiled, it just as soon turned into a smirk as he watched the Magi roll his eyes a little and return his attention to his meal.

Silence persisted over the course of their meal, but as Tony finished up he sat back in his seat again and observed the others thoughtfully. 

“After lunch, I’d like to spend some time with each of you individually and get to know you all. Knowing whether we get along or not will go a long way towards helping finalize my decision.”

For the most part, he received nods of understanding, though Master Strange gave a quiet sigh at that, and Tony couldn’t help but find some amusement in how little care the man gave his presence. “Master Minoru, would you be so kind as to join me after lunch in the gardens? I will send for each of you as the evening progresses and have each of you shown to the guest rooms.”

“Of course, your Imperial Majesty,” she responded quietly, and as she finished, Tony rose to his feet and offered her an arm, which she took to follow him into the hall.

Each of their meetings was interesting. It was clear that there was a lot to learn about the Vishan, but as much as he enjoyed Master Minoru’s presence overall, he found her almost stilted and boring. The time spent with her felt more like he was being educated than socialized with despite her meticulous manners. 

Master Rama was an absolute font of wisdom, and while Tony already knew he wasn’t going to ask the man to stay, he found that there was a lot to learn from the man about how to try and put society back together after a lifetime of war. They had a few deep discussions about the long-term trauma of orphans and the differences in trauma between the young and those who had grown up alone. They each presented different challenges that Tony knew he would need to deal with on a broader scale, and the discussion was incredibly informative.

He met with Master Drumm in the gardens and discovered the man to have an unexpected softness to him considering what he’d been told about him. He was keen on a variety of the flora of the area, asking questions often enough that, eventually, Tony led him into his mother’s garden. She kept a wide variety of unique and foreign flowers there that were still maintained by a select group of gardeners even now, years after her assassination. It had been pleasant and comfortable, and a part of him could see keeping someone like Master Drumm around as a companion.

At least, he could have if it wasn’t for Master Strange who rather lived up to his name.

They sat in a small study where he’d found Master Strange after his walk with Master Drumm. It was late now, night had taken over and the magus had found himself a spot by a fireplace, casually flipping through a book paying no heed when Tony entered. He wasn’t used to being ignored that way, despite knowing that Strange had been informed of his imminent arrival.

“Do you hate me?” Tony asked, not bothering to greet the other. Strange chuckled at that, glancing over the top of the book before delicately snapping it shut with one hand and setting it aside.

“Do you think that anyone who doesn’t immediately acknowledge you hates you?”

“Do you always answer a question with another question?”

“It’s definitely one of my many talents,” Strange smirked a bit, standing to give a mock bow. “Your Imperial Highness, how may I be of service?”

“You could start by answering my question,” Tony raised an eyebrow at the man before moving to take a seat across from where the magus had been sitting.

“Hate is a strong word. I barely know you, I can’t be expected to feel anything in particular about you, can I?”

"Despite the fire going in this room, I'm feeling a bit of a chill coming from you," the brunette huffed with amusement. "Kind of feels like you had no interest in coming here to begin with."

"Would you? Had you been taken from your homeland to proceed to a foreign place with the prospect of becoming the drudge to a lord," Strange retorted, and despite the words, his tone remained mostly neutral and inquisitive.

"Hey now, where's that sense of duty for your country? And it's not a drudge, it's an heir. I imagine the other magi, based on our interactions, would have been the first to leap at the opportunity." Tony hummed, leaning over on the armrest as he watched the firelight licking the side of Strange's arm.

"My sense of duty is to my nation, where I clearly am not. I'm not privy to these rituals, but I will do what's necessary for my people. I don't exactly have to agree though." Strange sighed, and finally set the book to the side, folding his hands under the vibrant blue robes he wore.

Contrary to earlier, Tony was finally  _ meeting _ Strange for the first time. The man had a fire to him, unlike the gentleness of Master Drumm, Strange was closed and guarded. In contrast to Master Minoru, his manners were there but only shared with those he assumed he only deemed  _ worthy _ of them. Strange still had a sense of self-sacrifice as Sol Rama did, but it made itself apparent in a different manner.

It was as if the sum of the best parts of each different master could be found in one individual with a true spark of uniqueness and Tony appreciated that.

On top of that, Master Strange was also quite attractive now that he had a moment to pick the magi's brain and see his true colours in such an intimate setting.

All the other masters he'd met with were courteous, but they were all mostly dull and left something to be desired. Master Strange, however, was not boring and even though the man he perceived before him could bite-back with the tongue of an adder, he could overlook that highly unconventional irreverence the man seemed to harbour for him because, in all honesty, he found it  _ delightful _ .

Master Strange did one thing many people didn't - he spoke to him like he was a human being, like they were on the same level.

Tony loathed the throne and all its formalities, he had his own wild streak to him which was generally a delight to his mother back in the day, despite all the trouble it had caused and how his behaviour would madden his father to the nth degree.

There was a shared silence as he peered over to Master Strange, who gazed right back at him fervently with crystalline ocean eyes, accented in the flickering fury of the fireplace.

It was clear that Tony had made his decision, and he had a feeling Strange sensed that.

"Know that this is essential for both of our realms. You do your people great service and honour. For a man as resolute as you are Master Strange, you should take more pride in your work." Tony continued to hold an amused grin, and it somehow seemed to sour the other a bit.

"There is no honour in war, akin to false deities those of small mind surrender their faith for the concept of dividing a unified mind. I am nothing more than a prize to you and your nation, an unnecessary variable, an extra cog in a machine that serves no purpose."

"Flattery and obedience will get you everywhere, Master Strange." Tony slowly lifted himself from his seat, walking over to the seated magi and looked down at him.

Strange's eyes tracked him like a hawk, and he lorded over the man who mirrored a fervent and unblinking gaze.

He reached a hand out to gently squeeze the Vishan's shoulder, feeling the man's muscles tense under his touch, just as quickly pulling away as his fingers trailed over the royal blue silk.

"Have a good night, Master Strange. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow." Tony grinned playfully and that was something Strange didn't deign to mirror. 

He finally turned away, exiting the study and leaving Master Strange to his own devices.

* * *

“I want him.”

“Tony, be reasonable,” Obediah sighed heavily, looking over to Pepper for a moment and watching the woman shrug. “Minoru is a beautiful woman, her knowledge of Vishan history would be invaluable to your rule. Knowing your enemy-”

“I said I want Master Strange,” Tony stated plainly. “Master Minoru has things she wants to do, Strange is-”

“It’s not supposed to be about what she wants!” Obediah interjected. “It’s about what the Empire needs!”

Pepper cleared her throat, and both men took a breath, looking over at the woman and settling.

“Why Master Strange? What is it about him that draws your attention, Tony?”

“He’s a medical practitioner, for one,” Tony stated quietly, taking a deep breath. “But the way he’s acting and the way he was talked about makes me think there’s something else about him. I have a feeling there’s more to him than they’re letting on.”

“Tony, you know the doctors have already said that he’s beyond saving at this point,” Obediah shook his head. “I know what you’re going through, and I know it’s hard - your father is my best friend, and I want to do something to save him, too - but there’s nothing we can do.”

He looked sharply at Obediah, drawing his brows together. “I said I want Master Strange.”

“I’ll make the arrangements,” Pepper stated clearly before Obie could get a word in, and Tony offered her a smile.

“Thank you, Pep. Goodnight, Obie,” Tony greeted the man, getting to his feet and watching the larger man heave a sigh before standing and clapping him on the shoulder.

“Goodnight, Tony. Try and go see your old man before you get to bed, alright?”

“Of course,” Tony nodded and gave the man a warm smile.

* * *

The next morning was hectic. Everyone had their breakfast separately as preparations were made, and by the time the gathering was fully assembled in the throne room, Tony was feeling a slight fluttering in his stomach - excitement or anticipation, he wasn’t certain.

The four heirs stood in a line with the attendant off to one side, attentive as the room slowly filled with an audience. Tony’s guards lined the aisles and behind the line of guards, various members of the court stood witness. Pomp and ceremony meant that the only one in the room who was awarded a seat was Tony.

Pepper addressed the room to explain the situation before she handed the floor over to Tony, who took a deep breath and stood. “Thank you all for taking the time to come out here and spend the day with us. It’s been an honour to get to know all of you, and the decision was a challenging one.” _ It wasn’t _ , but manners didn’t hurt.

“After careful consideration, I’ve finally come to a decision that it will be beneficial to the Empire and Vishan both. Master Strange will be joining my court,” he announced, pointedly not looking at the man in question even as he felt the magus’ eyes fix on him rather pointedly. There were some sounds of confusion in the room, and Tony smiled a little to himself before finally meeting Strange’s icy gaze.

“Please feel free to say your goodbyes and spend what time you’d like with your companions before they return home. We will have your things moved to your new residence.” He smirked slightly at the man before turning his attention to the remaining heirs. “Thank you again for your time and patience. You’re dismissed. I bid you all a safe journey home.”

He knew it would be hours before he saw the magus again, but he was very excited about the opportunity, despite being fairly certain that the man would be cross with him. That almost made the prospect even more exciting.

There were a few hours of dead time before the golden and red glow of the sky heralded the evening tide.

Palace guardsmen retrieved Strange, escorting him to Tony's chambers in deliverance for their first orientation of the grounds together.

"Master Strange! Welcome back, right on time." He grinned and the magus seemed much more irate than the first night they'd talked, though clearly attempting to keep any expressions of his emotion from breaking the neutral spell of his demeanour.

Strange looked around the larger-than-life room, marble floors, white and gold corinthian pillars spanning the room. A large open bathtub off to the right, a canopied bed to the left surrounded by fine red and gold silks with beautiful furniture and a study. It was a very open-concept room and Strange appeared rather overwhelmed by the sheer size of it. He snapped out of his stupor and finally responded to Tony.

"Yes, well one doesn't really have a chance to say no when four armed men show up at my quarters and notify me I've been summoned to see the Emperor." Tony wondered if he imagined Strange rolling his eyes after that and stood from his desk.

He'd been working on some war-machine blueprints and set down his glasses, kicking his chair away to approach Strange. He quickly waved off the guards, smiling like a fox as he looked the man up and down.

"It was all a matter of protection, I can assure you," Tony added with hum to his voice as he waltzed over to Strange, straightening out his own gold and red robes.

"Protection? Seems more like you’re concerned about losing your property." Strange held up his wrists to display two iron cuffs as his silken blue sleeves fell away from them.

He revealed two beautifully crafted bracers on each of his wrists, inlaid with crimson gems and intricately engraved golden patterns much akin to the aesthetic of the Iron Empire. From those gems lines of electric blue stemming and twisting around with the ornate design creating a beautiful piece of jewellery.

"Think of it as a gift, I hope you like them, I designed them myself." He completely glossed over the fact that they were there to prevent Strange from accessing his magic.

"You might as well lock me up in a prison cell for all it matters," the magus sighed partially irate.

"It's just a precaution, you know how it is - you don't trust me, I don't trust you, this keeps everyone safe. We can't have you casting spells around here now can we?" Tony approached him and laid a hand on his back between his shoulder blades, ushering him towards the door.

Strange merely shrugged his hand off and that got a chuckle out of Tony.

"I'd like to show you around, introduce you to the amenities and resources of the empire. I'm sure you're well versed in the tasks you will be performing but not in the tools you will be using and what you can access and what is explicitly off-limits. That is unless you'd rather stay here, and I can show off my room to you  _ starting with the bed. _ " The brunette wiggled his brows playfully as he stepped in even closer. He was rewarded with a sour expression from the magus, though he held his tongue and simply glided out of Tony's space.

"I would like to know the limits of my ventures, please." Strange gestured for the lord to lead the way and Tony nodded. Strange gave him a larger than normal birth as he led the magus out of his room and through the halls.

"Obviously, these are my quarters - you're welcome in there any time, don't be a stranger." He grinned and they continued down the halls. "You will have armed guards escort you around for the start of your stay here, for both your protection and mine until we deem that you no longer need an attendant and that decision will be at my discretion," he began, "there are exceptions, which will either be me or a designated guard." He spoke casually, playing over the entire tone of the situation with a nonchalant cadence.

“If the guards are there for  _ your _ safety, why would you be a suitable substitute for a guard? I don’t need magic to hurt you if I wanted to,” Strange pointed out, glancing at Tony, and Tony hummed softly.

“There are reasons you won’t be allowed into the healing rooms or the kitchens. But I assure you, the irons aren’t just a pretty decoration, so maybe think carefully before making things complicated. I really don’t want to have to resort to anything unpleasant.”

“I’m perfectly well aware that they’re more than a pretty decoration,” Strange ground out, clearly unhappy with Tony’s clarification. There was no missing the distinct tensing of the other’s body as he walked, and Tony sighed a bit to himself, running a hand into his hair.

“I don’t know what you’re expecting from all of this, to be honest. I really don’t want you getting hurt - or anyone else. Thus the whole ending the war thing. So it’s up to you how hard you want to make all of this on yourself.”

“What I was  _ expecting _ was that you were looking for a bride,” Strange looked over at him with a serious expression. “I was not expecting  _ this _ .”

“Maybe I  _ was _ looking for a bride,” Tony responded, raising an eyebrow and giving Strange a once over. The magus rolled his eyes at that as he continued down the hallway.

“Do you really expect me to just roll over and give myself to you?”

“Not at all. That’s why I’m looking forward to all of this,” Tony smirked a bit to himself, pushing a door open.

“Your quarters are here. Connected to mine. Easy access and all that, you know. Consider yourself spoiled! You have your own bath even! You don’t have to share with everyone else!”

“Fantastic.” Strange didn’t sound impressed at all as he slipped in, grabbing the door and turning to give Tony a rather stoic expression, before offering a mock bow. “Goodnight, your Imperial Majesty.”

The door was closed in Tony’s face faster than he anticipated, and the smile crept further across his face. As much of a headache as it was going to be to explain the man’s attitude to Obie and Pepper, he was going to enjoy every damn moment of the magus’ company.

“Goodnight, asshole,” he responded cheerfully to the door, chuckling to himself as he headed back towards his room.


	2. Chapter 2

Much to Stephen's relief, he was not harangued by Tony the following morning.

A more than inordinate amount of food had been supplied for him, brought in by his appointed handmaidens and left before he'd even woken. Sleeping in wasn't a customary thing for him but under these unique circumstances, his body begged for it with the overload of stress, needing more than usual to recuperate.

Now, awake from the strong aroma of food, the magus slid over to the side of his bed, pulling himself from the sea of silken blankets and covers to greet the morning sun.

The doors had been opened to his balcony, assuming the handiwork of Tony's personal servants and fresh linens and garbs of all sorts folded and neatly hung at the armoire.

This was more than he was used to, it was more than he could say he could get comfortable with. 

Standing, Stephen went over to observe the spread in front of him which seemed to be enough food to feed an entire town, all of it left for him alone and it was almost sickening to think how much of it would end up going to waste.

Stephen sighed, taking a seat at the table, clad in only his linens. He reached for one of the kettles of brewed tea, earl grey was it? Milk and sugar on the side, a selection of fine cuts of meat such as smoked salmon and capers, differently prepared eggs ranging from quail to large chicken eggs, bacon, an entire loaf of bread, muffins, scones and an assortment of jams and spreads - at least all he cared to categorize of what was within arms reach from his seat.

It was a little dizzying to even think of what else there was in the sea of food, but opting to make the best of it he fixed himself some tea and a serving, taking the morning in strides as he adjusted.

He shooed away some of the handmaidens that offered to bathe him, making it clear that he preferred to deal with his morning rituals alone. They seemed quite confused but given that his Imperial Majesty apparently didn't make use of them either wasn't much different and had been instructed to do whatever would help make the magus comfortable.

He'd opted to remain in his own traditional garbs when all was said and done, which had been washed and pressed, not quite fancying an alternate blue and gold robe that had been set for him more under the aesthetic of the Iron Empire.

All of it felt like a fevered dream, it was as if having some peace and quiet was nearly impossible. Always being followed around, doted upon, it was a change he wasn't quite used to compared to his previously minimalistic lifestyle, and he needed to find at least some place that he could have time alone away from this overwhelming stimulation.

"Good morning, Master Strange, where shall we escort you?" A butler waited for him as he left his room surrounded by four armed guards.

_ Ah, yes,  _ he'd nearly forgotten about that.

"I'm not sure I really know my way around here, anywhere I may have some time to myself. And you are?"

"Edwin Jarvis, his Imperial Majesty’s personal servant, though my name is of no importance. I could recommend the greenhouse sir, it's right next to the library and sir enjoys spending time there. The guards may not enter but I am still instructed to remain by your side or at least near to fulfill your needs."

The man had a gentle accent and a warm cadence to his voice despite its near rigid diplomatic nature. Neither guard nor Jarvis batted an eye as Stephen nodded and they proceeded towards the greenhouse where just as Jarvis had mentioned, the guards were not allowed to traverse. 

It was something resembling a breath of fresh air.

“His Imperial Majesty mentioned that he hadn’t given you a full tour of the properties, and was unable to show you the areas that were off-limits to you,” Jarvis stated quietly as he led Stephen through the gardens, the soft chirping of birds in the distance and the sound of running water the only real noise in the area.

“I was exhausted after the events of yesterday,” Stephen responded in kind, not wanting to ruin the delicate balance of quiet between them.

“He can be very exhausting,” Jarvis agreed, casting Stephen a sly look that left the magus to clear his throat softly.

“That’s not for me to say, is it?” he responded carefully, recognizing that he had no way of knowing who he could trust here, or what, exactly, Emperor Stark was capable of.

He’d heard stories about Emperor Howard Stark and the people he surrounded himself with. The man was brilliant and terrifying with a pinpoint focus on his goals. The man who had, for all intents and purposes,  _ claimed ownership  _ of Stephen had been raised by that warmonger and the fact that he’d been allowed to get away with what he had so far hadn’t been lost on him.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try those boundaries wherever possible.

“Hm, indeed not,” the butler smirked slightly as he began showing Stephen around the greenhouse properly.

The building was massive, and as Jarvis explained it had been something commissioned by Emperor Howard Stark’s mother, and expanded by Empress Maria Stark as something of a pet project. Her efforts and contributions to the war, apparently, had been to preserve as much flora as possible out of fear of what the messiness of war would do to the land.

“Many people are not allowed in the greenhouse,” Jarvis told him as they sat on a bench overlooking a large pond full of brightly coloured fish. “The guards are not the only ones restricted from this area, which is why it’s so quiet. The best botanists of the Empire tend to these gardens, and only they and a select handful of individuals are allowed to be here. His Imperial Majesty made it clear that you were to be allowed access.”

“In lieu of being allowed to go outside,” Stephen responded, glancing at Jarvis. The man didn’t so much as look at him to acknowledge his words.

“We will be serving your breakfast in your quarters for the next couple of weeks to give you time to adjust. We expect it’s far from an easy change, and if we can accommodate you more easily with specific foods or anything, please let the guards or myself know. Sir Rhodes is a respectable man and was assigned to you very specifically because he’s someone his Imperial Majesty trusts with keeping you safe from others as much as anything.”

“How very thoughtful of him,” Stephen sighed heavily.

“He is, you know.” When Stephen gave him a questioning look, Jarvis smiled at him gently. “Thoughtful. Where things that are important to him are concerned, he is very thoughtful.”

After a quiet lunch with Jarvis and the small posse of guards, Stephen was shown the rather immense public library as well as access to a private collection. He hadn’t fully explored his own quarters yet, either, and Jarvis made it quite clear that the ‘small’ (it was huge as far as Stephen was concerned) study in Stephen’s room could be filled with whatever books he desired.

Wong had left a chest of Stephen’s personal collection in the room, apparently, and Stephen spent some of the late afternoon carefully arranging one of the many shelves with the books, enjoying a little time to himself despite knowing that the guards were posted outside his room.

It was nearly dinner when a knock sounded on his door. It was brief, and the one who knocked didn’t wait for Stephen to let them in. It didn’t take more than one guess to figure out who it was either.

“Strange?” the Emperor called quietly, poking his head around a little before finding him.

“Good evening, your Imperial Majesty.”

“That’s such a mouthful. Can we just stick withTony? Since we’re in private and all?” the man asked as he flopped into one of the sitting chairs near Stephen’s unlit fireplace to watch him.

“Whatever you like, your Imperial Majesty.”

“... you’re a pain in the ass, you know that?”

“Am I?” Stephen glanced over his shoulder at the man, cocking his head slightly.

“I came  _ all this way _ to see what your day was like-”

“Your quarters are literally next door.”

“Still!”

"And what may I do for your Imperial Majesty?" Stephen responded, somewhat enjoying the way the term seemed to aggravate Tony.

"Well first off, I hope you enjoyed spending time with Jarvis." The butler in question remained quiet and unmoving, simply staring straight onwards before responding.

"Always a pleasure sir." The words drew a wide smile out of Stephen.

"I figure I'd pay my lovely companion some company, it's been a long day." There was something off about the brunette's voice, and Stephen got the impression that Tony was putting on a front for something lingering.

"And how may I help his Imperial Majesty today?" The question was asked with a bit more exasperation this time, completely ignoring Tony's sentiments.

"Now you're just doing that on purpose."

"And what if I was?" Stephen quirked a brow, at his wits end. "Are you going to punish me?"

"Well clearly yes, now that you mention it," Tony added in a light tone, circling around him like a shark.

Stephen scowled, though Tony did not dare get in any closer to him.

"Sir, might I kindly remind you that your presence is requested in the hospice shortly." Jarvis piped up, Stephen quickly glanced at the servant and Tony sighed, almost deflating with the mention.

"I know, I know..." Tony trailed off, there was a pregnant silence. "I'm just here to make sure you're getting as comfortable as possible." The words were genuine, or at least as genuine as they could be when Tony spoke, and it made Stephen question what was going on for a brief moment.

"I needed a break, but now I need to leave you again. As you know, Jarvis will be at your beck and call, if you need anything, you ask him." The man of question nodded his head. "Since you haven't killed him, I'm reducing the guards to two.”

"Oh joy." Stephen rolled his eyes.

"I have family matters to attend to," Tony added with some melancholy and Stephen quirked a brow.

"Go In good health sir," Jarvis spoke up with some emotion in his voice.

"Thanks, pal." Tony walked up, clapping a hand on both Stephen and Jarvis' shoulder before he left the two once again.

* * *

What Tony arrived at wasn't anything he was unused to. It had been the same for months, really, and Howard had given him the interim title of ‘Emperor’.

Howard's condition hadn't changed and as much as he hated the old man, running the empire on his own was proving to be a lot more difficult than any task he'd undertaken.

It had been a slow depreciation but only recently in the past weeks had Howard's health an even steeper decline. None of the palace practitioners could diagnose his ailments and there were no current treatments.

Most of the hospice workers made mention of it being an unknown sickness but in the back of Tony's mind, he had a feeling it was somehow linked to Vishan.

Howard had suddenly fallen ill and fatigued. His health had been steadily deteriorating, his heart growing weaker as if his entire body was atrophying. It had come on so suddenly and any tests to determine whether it was any sort of known ailment had come up negative.

With the war and everything going on, Tony had begun to suspect that it was an act of terrorism of some sort, but there was simply no evidence to back it up and Obie had assured numerous times that his logic was a little over the top and Howard was simply… sick.

If it was that simple, why had he been called Emperor? If it was only sickness, why wasn’t he improving? Why would his father pass on his title?

“Dad?” he called softly, sitting beside the man’s chair with his hands tucked between his knees. “Hey, dad? I had a couple of updates from today I thought you might want to hear about…” he pressed, and the man didn’t respond.

Hesitating for a few moments, he reached out to touch his father’s hand in an attempt to wake the man and received no response one again. Checking his father’s pulse, he found no abnormalities but stood anyway to check his eyes. The man remained unresponsive.

“Dad…?” he tried again, this time more anxious as worry seeped into his tone. “Nurse!” he called a moment later, shoving his chair back as he stood and made his way to the door. “ _ Nurse! _ ”

May arrived moments later, Christine on her heels as the women flooded around him. “What’s going on?” Christine addressed him as May moved immediately to Howard’s side.

“He’s not waking up… I know he was a bit out of it this morning, but he’s been entirely unresponsive, even when I checked his eyes,” Tony’s words came out a little rushed as he breathed heavily, taking a few deep breaths.

“Try to get something to eat, Tony,” Christine stated quietly, resting a hand on either of his shoulders. “Have Miss Potts make you something, alright? We’ll check him over and see what’s going on. We’ll inform you as soon as we know something-”

“Christ, this is my father-”

“I  _ know _ , Tony. I’m sorry. But we need to check him over, and you hovering and worrying isn’t going to help him any. Get something to eat. Get some air. We’ll let you know as soon as we know something, okay?”

Tony’s hands clenched into fists and he cussed under his breath then nodded, turning on his heel to leave the room in frustration and worry. 

He found Pepper soon enough, a simple hand gesture enough for her to fall into step behind him as he made his way to the kitchen.

“Tony…?”

“It’s dad.”

“I assumed… what’s the matter?”

His emotions hit him in a torrent, he’d been perfectly fine one moment but it was as if a switch had been flipped and everything came rushing through before he could even comprehend it.

“I don’t know,” he responded weakly, dropping into a chair in a private dining room and looking at her, attempting to keep the tears out of his eyes to no avail. “Shit, Pep, this is all way too much at once. The heir just got here, he’s still settling in, we have so much we need to account for along the borders with the war at a close, I… I still need him.”

Pepper pulled up one of a chair beside him, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

"In all my time here you've never once listened to a single word anyone's said." Pepper started softly, her hand gently stroking his shoulder. "And now you're acting as if everything depends on your father's council? Tony, you've always held your head high and always had the answer for everything. You don't need to rely on his council, you are more than capable of handling things on your own." She continued gently.

"I just-" He started shaking his head, fingers clutched into his hair as he smoothed them through. "It's been so hard since mum, I just don't know what to do. I thought I knew everything, but so much is happening all at once, what if I make the wrong choices, I don't think I can hold this place up on my own." His eyes flicked back and forth frantically, the corners burning with the sting of tears he fought desperately to contain.

Her fingers idly ran over his sleeve and Tony reached over to cup his hand over hers.

"Tony, you're going to fail." His head snapped up to look at Pepper with a confounded expression. "And you're going to learn from it, you've never questioned yourself before, why are you starting now?" she took a moment to let that message sink in.

"It's the only way you'll learn, you don't think your father made his fair share of mistakes in his time? You don't just go into these kinds of things knowing everything, it's the entire process of growing up.

"His biggest mistake was the war, and you don't think he's still trying to clean up his own messes? Even now, a generation of this empire's flaws are all eventually going to be put on your shoulders one day and everyone needs you to be able to step up and handle it," she added softly.

His fingers lightly brushed over hers and he wiped the corners of his eyes.

"Everything will be fine, you have me, you have Rhodey and you have Jarvis. You even have Strange."

"I wouldn't exactly say that," Tony snorted.

"I'm sure he'll come around, you're not exactly the easiest person to ignore." She let out an amused laugh and Tony once again cleared his eyes and took a deep breath.”Ending the war was the express purpose of choosing him above all the other candidates,”

Tony took a moment to let out a deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to collect himself. There was a silence that followed and they both sat comfortably in each other’s company, quietly. After another long moment, and when Tony had finally collected himself enough, he spoke up.

"Thanks, Pep." She nodded and gently tapped his shoulder.

"Come grab dinner and I'll take you back to your room and keep you company." He nodded and rose to his feet, straightening out his cloak and robes with a few steady smooths of his hands before he offered an arm and she gladly accepted, hooking it around hers and walking in comfortable silence with her.

Tony shed his cloak when he returned, divesting himself of his robes too so he simply had his black hatched vest underneath and white shirt. He laid himself down on the bed and Pepper hung his cloak then retrieved a jug of water and a glass.

He accepted the glass as it was handed to him and Pepper took a seat next to his bed, grabbing one of the books she'd started prior as she waited for him to drift off.

"Thanks for being here for me Pep," he mumbled, laying down on his back and staring up at the canopy above his bed.

"Always, Tony," she smiled. She waited for him to fall asleep before leaving his quarters.

* * *

"What do you mean he's not coming out of his room?"

"He's been unwell, exhausted. Howard's illness is taking a toll on him," Pepper folded his hands and Obadiah ran a palm over the bald spot of his head, pacing back and forth restlessly.

"Howard's the one who-" he let out an exasperated breath. "That kid, I swear..." Pepper stayed quiet as she went to fix Obadiah a snifter of whiskey and handed it to him. 

"First it's that heir he picked, that so-called magus and now this? This empire isn't going to run itself, I need him at the war council today to step in for Howard. When is he going to grow up and start accepting his responsibilities?" He took the glass from her.

"Colonel Rhodes has offered to fill in, just for this one meeting. His Imperial Majesty still needs to be briefed and I think that the Colonel's counsel will be invaluable right now just until his Majesty is back on his feet." Obadiah tapped the glass as he paced back and forth, his eyes flicking to Pepper than to Rhodes.

"You know, if I was running this empire things would move a lot faster than they have been." Obie walked around the room, Howard's study that as of late, Obadiah had appropriated in his absence. "This war would be over if I had my say and those magi dogs would know their place."

The group remained collectively quiet as they let his majesty's advisor blow steam.

"We can hope for Howard's swift recovery so things can get back on course," Rhodey finally spoke up. "It's the best plan of action. The borders between the empire and Vishan have stayed quiet for the time being, we've had no news of any suspicious activity since the ceremony and once the treaty is finalized we will have the full-signed declaration of a ceasefire and need to begin work on the trade agreements and border jurisdictions." Rhodes started and Obadiah stopped pacing, legs far apart as he stood with one hand on his hip, taking another sip of his drink.

He didn't look terribly thrilled with the information.

"Vishan is requesting liberation of the war prisoners and would like to open a discussion on heritage status and land appropriation today at the council," Rhodey added.

"One thing at a time. Nothing is being officialized until Tony is there, least of all whether we’re handing over Iron assets to them.” Obadiah looked around his disposition of that of a feral animal."We bide our time for now. After the council have the magus brought to my room.”

“Sir?” Rhodes shifted in his spot, casting a brief look to Pepper before focusing on the advisor once more.

“We might as well get something out of him - or is his entire purpose here to be Tony’s whore? If he has information about Vishan’s borders and the weaknesses in their shielding…”

“Do you honestly think he’s going to give up that kind of information so soon?” Rhodes inquired uneasily.

“If he doesn’t then he’s not exactly useful to us, is he? His position here isn’t so secure that he can afford to be keeping things like that to himself. If he needs that reminder then I’ll be happy to jog his memory. And Pepper? Do something about Tony. This can’t keep going on,” Obadiah stated firmly, looking between the two before waving a hand.

“Dismissed.” The Colonel gave a salute and Pepper curtseyed lightly before the pair exited, leaving Obadiah to finish off his whiskey in a quick go, setting the crystal glass aside and looking down at his papers.

* * *

Tony knew moping wasn’t helping anyone. In his heart, he knew it.

According to the doctors, Howard was unlikely to wake in his current state. For days he’d gone nowhere but his room and his father’s room, hoping that something would change.

It was the moment he realized that he needed a miracle to save his father that he realized that he might very well have that miracle on hand already. 

Strange was a magus, a healer, he’d been told that before.

His thoughts were only half-formed when he dashed out of his room, catching Jarvis by the arm quickly. “Where’s Master Strange?”

“Likely he’s in the greenhouse or the library, sir-”

His feet carried him away without a second thought, and five minutes later he was making his way down the winding paths of the greenhouse pausing to check with some of the botanists as to whether they’d seen the magus and receiving a resounding negative. He supposed he should’ve known when he hadn’t seen the guards outside the greenhouse, but it was worth at least checking.

His next stop was the library, where the guards would’ve been allowed in, leaving him to scour the various rows of shelves and check all three floors before sinking into a seat. 

The next logical step he knew would be Strange’s room, so after a brief moment to catch his breath he made the fifteen-minute walk back towards their suites, finding two unfamiliar guards posted at the magus’ door. 

They certainly weren’t the ones  _ he’d assigned. _

“Where’s Colonel Rhodes?” Tony inquired of the guards who stood a little straighter at his approach.

“A meeting with Lord Stane, your Imperial Majesty.”

“Master Strange is within?”

“Yes, your Imperial Majesty,” the man responded quickly. “He has been confined to quarters on Lord Stane’s orders.”

Tony’s brows furrowed at that before he pushed passed the guards and into the room. While smaller than his own quarters, they were still large enough to take a few moments to find his way around. “Strange?” he called after a moment and heard shuffling.

“I’ll be just a moment, your Imperial Majesty,” the magus responded quickly. 

When he emerged from the bathroom he was clearly not as well put together as usual - Tony wondered for a moment if he had been preparing to have a bath. The slightly mussed look was a good look on him, but Tony didn’t have the time or presence of mind to really admire that.

"It's unlike you not to be in the study unless my timing was bad -  _ or good _ ... if it means you were just about to hop into the shower," Tony quirked a brow. "And what's with the formalities?" The brunette's eyes scanned over him, something appeared a little off.

"Am I to believe that you didn't coordinate having me locked away in my room, after interrogating me?" 

"Excuse me?" Tony furrowed his brows a bit.

Strange seemed to bite his tongue a bit and shrink away from Tony which only encouraged the emperor to take a step closer again.

"What's going on?" Tony's voice was inquisitive but starting to edge on the concern.

"Nevermind, it is not my place to speak as such  _ your Imperial Majesty, _ " Strange said with some venom in his voice and Tony's eye's narrowed.

"Strange. I'm  _ ordering _ you to tell me what's going on." That impelled a resentful look from the magus but he resigned himself.

"Your advisor, Obadiah, had a word with me. He requested I give him unavailable information about the Vishan empire - sensitive information that I'm bound by my oath to my people not to reveal," the magus stated with a resolute expression. "As such, when I couldn't disclose such sensitive information, I was  _ disciplined _ and confined to my quarters."

Tony could feel the hackles rising on his neck at the idea.

He'd already been made aware of the comments his father's advisor had been making to Rhodey and Pepper who both expressed Obadiah's clear distaste for the Vishan, which in all honesty, was never anything new.

But the idea that he'd taken matters into his own hands to question and potentially harm  _ his _ magus instantly made his blood boil.

"What did he do?" he pressed and Strange started backing up, away from him. He stayed quiet, simply staring back at Tony who only continued to get into his space, not taking any of the social cues to back off.

"Strange-"

"I already told you!" the sorcerer repeated, "he had me disciplined and locked away." Strange shrank a little and Tony reached to grab his arm out of instinct, causing the magus to grunt in pain.

He immediately recoiled like he’d touched a hot iron, releasing Strange and stepping back with an even more concerned expression. 

Strange turned away in silence.

"Show me your arm," he commanded, and then with a slightly softer voice added, "please." He waited patiently.

It was a moment before the magus seemed to realize that Tony wasn't as much of a threat, further willing to comply. The magus drew back his sleeve to reveal dark bruises and cuts that trailed up his arm. Wounds that had been hastily bandaged and Tony's face turned to a look of pure shock, near horror.

"Where else?"

Strange immediately let his sleeve drop and didn't speak. At that moment Tony had a million things racing through his mind.

_ How dare he? _

"Jarvis."

"Yes sire?" the servant entered the room immediately, having been close by.

"Dismiss the guards and summon the nurses. Have Master Strange tended to at once, his wounds need proper dressing."

"That's not necessary-" Strange stepped forwards to interject.

Tony turned back to Strange seeing that the magus had crawled out of his figurative shell a bit. "I don't know why he did this, but I gave no such orders for him to interrogate you or summon you. He has no right to give you orders, and if he tries something like this again, I want to hear about it."

“Is that an order?”

“... if it has to be. Do you need to make this unnecessarily complicated?” Tony frowned a little to himself.

He was trying to protect him, it was hard to guess why the man was being difficult about it. In theory, he didn’t  _ want _ to have something like this happen again - Tony sure as hell didn’t. He didn’t like the look of the man’s arm, and he was concerned about what else Strange was hiding under his robes.

Strange sat himself down as May slipped into the room, looking uneasily between the two men as Tony stood there with his arms crossed. “Can I see the injuries…?” she inquired softly as she shuffled closer to the magus, clearly uneasy.

Stephen gave her a look, glancing past her at Tony, before sighing to himself and slowly removing his shirt entirely, leaving Tony to grit his teeth further at the bruises blooming there, though it seemed the cuts had been restricted to the man’s arm, where the bandages were haphazardly wound. He wondered if that was what the magus had been doing when Tony interrupted.

An old scar sat over the sorcerer’s heart that Tony’s eyes narrowed in on briefly before his view was obscured by May moving in closer. “May I?” she checked with the man, before taking his nod as consent and fully unwrapping the bandage.

“I could’ve taken care of this myself, if I’d had the time,” Strange insisted, though his tone with May was much more gentle than his coolness with Tony had been.

“You shouldn’t have to take care of it on your own. As I said before, none of this should have even happened. I will be having words with Obadiah about what he did. You shouldn’t be made to feel unsafe-”

“You can’t exactly make me feel safe here,” Stephen interrupted, looking up at him. “How can you expect me to feel safe in the heart of the Empire my people have been at war with for almost half a century?”

“I can try. This is home now,” Tony pointed out as May carefully wrapped Strange’s arm and then began to run her hands over his chest to check his ribcage.

“This is  _ your _ home. This is  _ my _ prison,” the magus clarified, and May carefully stepped away.

“He seems to be in good health aside from his arm. He may have some discomfort breathing for the next few days as the bruising heals, but there shouldn’t be any lasting damage,” she explained before waiting for Tony to dismiss her.

“Thank you, May. Send Peter my best,” Tony responded quietly, watching her curtsey before leaving. His gaze fixed on Strange again, but before he could respond to his prior statement, the magus spoke up again.

“You came looking for me. Why?”

“I wanted your help, though I can imagine given the circumstances you may feel disinclined… this is important to me.”

Strange watched him carefully as he pulled his shirt back on, straightening it out properly before taking a deep breath. “On what matter?”

“A medical matter… specifically… my father, Howard. He has fallen sick to an unknown ailment..." Tony started, trailing off."I suspect it's magical in nature. There's no known cure for his illness and he was on the brink of finalizing the treaty between our nations before he fell ill," he continued, taking a seat. Despite his status, the emperor averted his gaze from the magus. "I suspect it's an act of rebellion from those rising amidst the ranks within our walls who don't welcome the solidarity act we've been working so hard on between the two nations.”

"My people but hold sticks, bows and arrows compared to your arsenal of canons and gunfire," Strange added quietly.

"I'm not accusing your people of anything." Tony started, shooting him a sharp look. "I've never trusted Obie, I suspect he has ties to this but I can't prove it. But that's the least of my worries right now." He looked at him sincerely.

"My father is dying, no doctor and no nurse have been able to help him so far. I was hoping you might be able to help - if somehow the ailment is magical, just something… anything," his plea sounded desperate even to his own ears.

"And is this why you picked me out of everyone?" Strange was calm but Tony could tell the man was irate.

"No, the idea came to me only today to ask you." Tony sighed, folding his hands behind his back. "Please," Tony added, staring quite resolutely down to the magus as he was putting himself together again.

"I cannot in my right mind forsake my oath as a practitioner of health. Though, I can make no guarantees that I can fix the situation, whether the ailment be magical or physical in nature." Strange sighed.

"The sooner the better and I would be most appreciative," Tony added and nodded to Jarvis to get the door.

"Very well, but I'm not doing this for you," Strange responded, smoothing out his robes and shooting Tony a defiant look. "I'm doing this for myself, and for my people." He added and Tony nodded, leading him out of the room.

Jarvis followed them down the hall as they all walked in silence.

Tony did not call for an escort, but a few other handmaidens fell into step as they headed towards Howard’s chamber. They walked in solemn silence, Jarvis getting the door for the both of them as they entered his chambers where Howard Stark lay prone on his own bed surrounded by more servants idling and tending to him.

Tony walked into the room and immediately went to his father's side, kneeling down at the side of the sleeping man's bed and nodding for Strange to follow in after.

“What I can do is going to be limited,” Strange clarified quietly as he moved up alongside Tony. “I can’t do a full medical analysis because of my lack of magic accessibility, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Tony didn’t even respond to that, simply watching as Strange went through many of the same things he’d seen over and over again from the various doctors who had checked him over. Checking his eyes, his breathing, his pulse… it wasn’t until the magus began to tug at his father’s fingers a bit and check their movement that he began to see things that were new.

He gave the man an odd expression as Strange opened his father’s mouth to inhale the man’s breath before sitting back and looking uneasy. The magus hesitated before looking up at him.

“It’s magic alright. I’m familiar with this magic, even, but… even if I had access to my magic, there’s nothing I could do to reverse this,” the magus admitted quietly. “Though, this magic is…” Strange hesitated, glancing around at the others for a moment before clamming up.

Tony noticed the look and glanced at the nurses and handmaidens in the room before waving a hand to dismiss them, leaving Tony alone with the magus and his unconscious father. “Go on.”

“... This magic was discussed for a long time in terms of its use,” Strange admitted lowly. “Many of us were in opposition to going to these kinds of extremes to end the conflict, as there is no way of reversing the damage done by this. This kind of magic was outlawed, and led to something of a… schism in beliefs. There is a small group of extremists who split off from the rest of us, but we didn’t have the resources to deal with them when faced with the war.

“I’m sorry to say that this isn’t something that can be repaired or reversed, and it will only get worse for him as it continues on. The best that I can do is end this quickly to minimize his pain-”

“No!” It ripped out of him before he could think about it, and the magus’ quick recoil was enough to make him rethink what he’d done. “No,” he added quietly, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. 

“I’m sorry. For one thing… that’s illegal here, and if you were to do it, of all people… that wouldn’t go well for you, no matter what I said on the matter. But… I’m not ready to let go of him,” Tony sighed as he ran a hand into his hair. “I lost my mother a while back to an assassination - poison, we assumed, nothing clear. But I’m not… ready for all of this shit. I’m not ready to take over - for all of this responsibility.”

Strange stayed quiet, taking a seat and giving Tony a contemplative look before his expression turned soft. “I understand what it’s like to lose your family,” he responded, and for a moment Tony panicked, looking up at him in alarm.

“I took you from them, didn’t I? By doing this… by bringing you here, making you stay-”

“No,” Strange cut in, shaking his head, “no. My family is dead. We lived near the border, so… it was bound to happen eventually. My mother and brother were in the house when it caught fire, my father took a bullet through the throat, and… my sister…” he trailed off for a moment, his brows creasing for a moment.

“You don’t have to talk about it,” Tony assured him, turning away in some shame and sitting beside him after a moment’s deliberation. “I’m sorry. I can’t say much more than that. Despite what’s happened, I have to recognize how much easier I have it than others.”

“But you have more responsibility than a lot of others,” Strange pointed out. “There is no easier trauma. It’s all trauma. This isn’t a competition. I just… I know what it’s like to lose family. I know what you’re going through isn’t easy.”

Tony felt light-headed, he felt dizzy - like the world had been thrown off its axis and he simply didn't know what to do about it.

Everything was coming to him in a headrush so fast and he couldn't think quite clearly, still trying to absorb the idea that his father's condition was now terminal.

The emperor looked over to him with an unreadable expression before resigning his gaze to the floor, shoulders sinking and slumping over.

"All of this was started by my father." He finally admitted quietly, “but at least he tried to make amends for his own actions and fix the damages he'd done." Tony spoke quietly. "It was only when he lost mom that he realized what it had cost him. Rather than doubling down, he decided to actually try to do something about it. That's when we proposed the exchange." Tony looked down at this feet, Stephen staying quiet.

"We thought maybe we could unify our nations with a marriage and a treaty. I was forced into it, I didn't want to marry anyone, in fact, I thought it was a stupid idea." Tony looked up at his father's unmoving form and folded his hand. "It's clear that Obie had different intentions towards all this," 

"This is a continuing behaviour from him, then?" Stephen questioned quietly.

Tony nodded.

"I picked you because I wanted to throw it back in my old man's face, but not just that." Tony laughed ironically. "As much as I wanted to spit on all of these stupid traditions, if anyone were to be able to make any change around here it might be you," he continued and Stephen seemed surprised by this admittance. "I wasn't looking for arm candy or a trophy wife, you know."

"Thanks, that makes me feel better," Stephen said flatly, but there wasn't any bite to it.

"You know what I mean. You're an intelligent man, Strange, you can figure it out." Tony flashed him a resigned look.

There was another pause as the two sat there quietly. It wasn't uncomfortable, but the information was clearly being digested.

Tony stared over at his father, zoning out, mind blank as if unable to really come to terms despite the gradual depreciation. He had to though, had to realize he needed to step up and despite his poor relationship with his father, the prospect of his passing didn't hurt any less.

"I don't hold any of this against you, you know..." Stephen spoke up, shattering the veil of silence and Tony's head turned slightly as he side-glanced him.

"I understand it was out of your control and you did what you had to do. I meant it when I said that everything I do, I do for my people. With the likelihood that I could potentially influence what's been going on, potentially make a sway in this war, I voluntarily offered myself to all of this." Stephen added.

Tony continued to listen quietly.

"I had no more back in Vishan than I do here, except for a few acquaintances." Tony looked back to his father's form, staring a little more before he'd decided he'd grown sick of it.

"Let's go." He sighed, waiting for Stephen's nod to follow and they exited his father's room.

He nodded to the handmaidens patiently waiting outside and they hurried back in after. 

Jarvis led the way and the two walked in solemn silence back to their quarters.

Tony didn't try to crack any wise comments or push his boundaries. He was clearly distraught as he went to his quarters and kept quiet until they'd returned.

"If you need anything please have Jarvis call for Pepper or Rhodes. Jarvis can take you where you need to go should you require an escort to the commons or the greenhouse.

"Of course, sire."

Stephen nodded quietly, and Jarvis escorted Stephen to the door to his own quarters down the hall.

"Miss May and Miss Karen will be by later to re-dress your wounds, sir." Jarvis gave Stephen a bow. "Please do not hesitate to call on me." The servant flashed him a small smile and Stephen retreated to his own room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags have been updated to reflect the story more accurately. Thinking of tags when posting always winds up with something getting forgotten, but these were a few bigger things, so it might be worth checking them out again if you're concerned!
> 
> Thank you all so much for your feedback on the last chapter, and we hope that you enjoy today's update! ❤

“Stephen?”

“Yes?”

“Oh, you  _ are _ here,” Tony smiled lightly to himself as he made his way through the greenhouse into a rather quiet back area, where the sun reflected through the crystal into a pool of warmed water. 

When he’d been a child he used to think the area was magical, now he knew better. That didn’t mean the sight didn’t still seem magical, especially with the magus floating amidst the water so serenely, the light playing off his skin in delicate rainbows. He didn’t right himself at first, though his head tilted to look in Tony’s direction as though to be certain the man was there before, finally, he adjusted.

“It’s okay, relax,” Tony shook his head, taking up a seat on the edge of the pool and pulling off his boots and upping his pant legs to dip his feet in the warm water.

The view had been lovely with the man in little more than shorts and the intricate gold irons on his wrists. For a moment he wondered about whether the magus would let him adorn him in even more jewelry, but alas, even Tony knew his limits. 

For as close as they’d gotten over the last few months he knew better than to push his luck. Keeping the magus close had been a task he’d found rather more enjoyable than he’d admit, even if Stephen questioned him more often than he was used to. 

_ Or maybe even because of it? _

At the very least, Stephen was with him for meals and during some time in the afternoon, though he was distinctly unavailable during a lot of his meetings, which gave Stephen time to do the things he liked - reading, wandering the garden, and swimming, apparently.

“Is there something I can help you with, your Imperial Majesty?” Stephen paddled a little closer, making his way towards where his feet could touch the bottom, and Tony tilted his head as he watched the rivulets wandering over the planes of Stephen’s bared chest.

“I was just looking for you… wondering how your day went while I was busy in stuffy meetings,” the emperor responded with a smile as the other man approached.

“It  _ had  _ been quiet,” the magus responded, resting his arms on the edge of the pool beside Tony, looking up at the emperor. “Nothing’s changed. Nothing’s new.”

“That sounds rather unfortunate,” Tony responded, though a part of him was relieved there had been no further incidents with Obadiah thus far. 

His advisor had expressed continued aggravation with Stephen’s presence and Tony earnestly didn’t care, so long as Obie didn’t do anything to make Stephen ill at ease again. “Perhaps we should do something special.”

“Special?” the magus tilted his head on his arms, giving him a curious look. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, you’ve been trapped in the palace for a long while now,” Tony murmured, hesitating a moment before reaching out to brush at some of Stephen’s wet locks. “I thought maybe you’d be interested in going out somewhere… someone might have mentioned your birthday was approaching…”

"I highly doubt you've received any word of my birthday other than prying into records," Stephen smirked as he started to climb out of the water, dripping onto the floor and even sprinkling Tony with water as he did.

The emperor scooted away with a grin and stood up, grabbing his pants and ringing them slightly as he slipped his shoes back on. "Perhaps, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to honour that. You've proven to be plenty trustworthy and I thought I might indulge you some."

His gaze was locked on Stephen as he nearly molested the man with his eyes alone. The sorcerer was built and lean, thoroughly chiselled muscles he hadn't seen through the reflection of the sun's glare on the water until he had climbed out and just as quickly started to dry himself off.

"Is that so?" Stephen started, towelling himself off. "I would be happy to see what lies beyond the palace walls and observe the city for what it is."

Tony nodded, retrieving the magus's bathrobe for him. This earned Tony an odd look from him but he happily helped Stephen into it, wrapping his arms around Stephen from behind to help do the tie up on it.

"Allow me," Tony smiled, though it was missed as he didn't linger, tying the robe and just as quickly moving away as he offered a hand to Stephen. The magus hesitated, almost flustered before he accepted the emperor's hand and Tony escorted him to his quarters with Jarvis in tow.

It may have been the first time Tony legitimately got voluntary contact from the magus. Their walk seemed to take forever in his mind as every step and every moment felt like a slow-motion play to the brunette. 

Stephen withdrew his hand as they parted, pausing at the door for a moment. "You may come in if you'd like, I won't be long." Stephen offered and Tony seemed a little surprised.

"Well,  _ if we have time- _ "

"I'm revoking that invitation."

"-No! I take it back!" Tony pushed past into the room. "I'll behave," he added, moving over to the chair at the end of the bed and sitting down.

Stephen eyed him with a small smirk, moving past him and deliberately shedding his bathrobe so he was shirtless and standing in just his swim attire almost strutting his way towards the ensuite.

_ Damn... _

"I won't keep you waiting long, your Imperial Majesty," Stephen gave Tony one last passing glance before he closed the door, leaving it only slightly ajar as the sound of running water filled the room shortly after.

"If you need any help, I'm right here!" Tony called after, receiving no response to follow.

It was a few minutes later that Stephen returned in a pair of what were clearly riding pants with a robe that draped down to his knees but remained open in the front for mobility. The magus had styled his mostly towel-dried hair, leaving him to look at Tony with a thoughtful smile.

“Are you dressed for riding? Or are we planning to walk?”

“If I put you on a horse how do I know you won’t run off?” Tony tilted his head. He assumed his voice held enough of a teasing inflection, but there was a clear moment where Stephen didn’t take it that way, his body tensing slightly before he rolled his eyes with a sigh.

“Where would I run off to, exactly?”

“I suppose it doesn’t really matter, does it?” the emperor smiled a little, trying to ease over the momentary lapse in judgement. “Shall we gather Rhodey and Happy and make our way out?”

“Whatever you like.” For a brief moment, he thought Stephen was being dismissive though he recognized that without the use of a formal title and with the way Stephen looked at him expectantly, the words were said sincerely.

He hesitated briefly before offering his arm to Stephen again, and the magus smiled just slightly as he folded his hand into his arm. “Would you like to go riding? I was originally thinking of a carriage, and you did mention the city… but there’s a lot of green space behind the palace if that’s more your thing?”

“It would be nice… perhaps this evening we can go into the city itself?”

“Is that a birthday request?”

“... perhaps,” Stephen cast a sidelong glance at him, and Tony smiled.

“I think we can accommodate that, then.”

When both of the men were ready, Tony escorted Stephen towards the stables. Three horses were prepared for them, a white mare for Tony and Stephen with a brilliant red and gold saddle, and two geldings for Rhodey and Happy.

"Master Strange, you know Rhodey, and this is Happy. You've met, but not formally." Tony stepped aside and both Rhodey and Happy both bowed, Stephen returning his own as well.

"It's very nice to meet you formally, I've heard a lot about you." Stephen smiled, easing up a little.

"Sir Happy here is a long-time personal guard and along with Jarvis he is yours as well." Happy nodded.

"An honour," Happy responded after.

"You can trust them just as I do." Jarvis brought over their horses and Rhodey and Happy mounted up.

Tony hopped up onto his horses back and held a hand down to Stephen.

"We're sharing, for safety purposes." Tony winked and Stephen rolled his eyes a little, taking the emperor's hand and hopping up into the saddle behind him.

Stephen gently rested his hands on Tony's waist, loosely wrapped around his midsection, settling in with his chest to Tony's back. His stomach dipped in that moment in response to the gentle contact.

"Are you ready?" He peered over his shoulder at the magus and Stephen nodded over his shoulder.

He led them out of the stables, with Happy and Rhodey flanking them. 

Stephen looked around, the first time in a long time the magus had been outside. He looked utterly enthralled at the appearance of the building's exterior and his eyes even seemed to light up as they came to the courtyard.

The man inhaled a deep breath, and Tony reached down to gently squeeze his arm. “You didn’t get to see outside much on your way here, huh?”

“No, not really,” Stephen responded quietly. “We were told to keep away from the windows, so I only really got a brief look when we arrived at the palace…”

“How does it differ from Vishan? You never really talk about home much…”

Stephen was quiet for a few moments, long enough that Tony began to think he’d said something wrong before Stephen rested his chin on Tony’s shoulder and sighed. “The architecture is different, considerably. My room is not terribly dissimilar to some architecture back home, but for the most part rather than the large doors you seem to have here, bedroom suites in Vishan are connected by large, open arches, and the ceilings are a bit lower in most private spaces. It makes it feel more… personal, I suppose. There’s considerably more wood, less of the marble and gold.

“Bathrooms, too,” the man hummed softly, “ours work very differently than yours. Fewer pipes, more magic, you know?”

“The fashion definitely seems different,” Tony remarked, “or is the difference a status thing?”

“Part of it is status,” Stephen acknowledged as they trotted through the courtyard and towards a path into the nearby woods. “At home, I would only wear robes like these if there was a particular event. All of us were sent with an assortment of formal robes under the assumption that we would need to be clear about our status here. It’s hard to explain the difference between formal robes and casual robes. Formal robes are… definitely softer,” he chuckled a little.

“What are they made of? Some kind of silk?”

“Spider Silk,” the magus responded, looking around curiously before the forest began to close in around them.

Tony kept one hand on the reins of his mare as another reached up to rest upon Stephen's, which seemed to tighten around his midsection.

He squeezed them as he kept his eyes on the road, the butterflies in his chest fluttering as if birds scattering to a rock tossed into a field.

"Ah, the robes I have left for you which you seem so averse to are silkworm," Tony chuckled as he steered his horse upon the path. Rhodey and Happy moved into formation behind them and they continued along the private pathway into the quiet forest. "I honestly think they would look quite complimentary if you tried them on… plus, you'd find them just as comfortable."

"I guess I'll be the judge of that." Stephen spoked softly, eyes flicking around as they neared the edge of the glade.

"I ask that you be on your guard when we go, as will I. The Iron Empire is not likely to be hostile towards my presence, but no city is free of it's gangs or extremists. If Obadiah or anyone else were to learn that we traversed into the city without a formal escort it could mean trouble for us overall." Tony mentioned softly as they made their way along a small creek, hooves making a soft noise against the pebbled edge.

He felt the nod of Stephen's head, the gentle nudge of his chin against his shoulder and that somehow triggered a light squeeze from his hand.

"So are you just going to take me to the upper-echelon parts of town or am I going to get a chance to see what the actual town is like?" Stephen inquired softly.

There was an exchange of glances between Rhodey, Happy and Tony before the emperor spoke up.

"I would prefer to take you where it's safer," Tony responded.

"I'd prefer to see the city for what it is," Stephen added, plaintively.

Tony looked to Rhodes and Happy and the two of them nodded as they redirected the small caravan towards a downward slope that the emperor knew led to a quiet grotto, drawing a sigh out of Tony.

"You are so much more trouble than I ever anticipated, you know that?" Tony glanced over his shoulder.

"Clearly," Stephen responded with a hint of amusement.

"Only for you, my lovely bride." He grinned widely and at that moment felt Stephen almost go tense and shrink away.

Tony hesitated as Stephen’s head disappeared from his shoulder, his hand curling a little more around Stephen’s as though to keep him in place - not that Stephen could really go anywhere, sharing a horse with him as he was. The quiet was almost unbearable for a few minutes, with nothing but the sound of birds, wind in the trees, and the stream alongside them.

“I have a bit of a picnic planned,” Tony finally spoke up after a few minutes, trying to fill the silence that felt rather uncomfortable.

“... tell me more about the bride thing,” Stephen spoke up as though Tony’s words had prompted him. Tony adjusted a little in his seat and took a deep breath. “Doesn’t the empire require an heir to continue the family line? You’re aware that isn’t something I’m capable of, right?”

“I suppose that’s a point,” Tony sighed softly but shrugged. “It’s not like there aren’t tons of kids who need homes… we can adopt or something?”

Stephen was quiet for a few moments as they pulled up to a clearing and Tony stopped the horse, watching as Happy hopped down to gather the blanket and food.

“Does the law allow for that?”

“I’m the emperor. If I must change things, I will,” he stated, watching as Rhodey offered Stephen a hand down from the horse, and Tony followed.

“I see. I suppose I have a lot to learn if I’m going to be your consort.”

“You’re a fast learner, I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Tony smiled at him warmly as Stephen helped Rhodey lay out the blanket to start setting up food and pillows.

“These seem like extreme lengths to go to in order to stick it to your dad,” the magus finally stated quietly as he sat himself down and Tony took up a seat beside him, a bit uncomfortable from his time in the saddle.

"I've been known to be very stubborn," Tony responded and Happy brought over the basket and they both began to slowly remove and spread out the contents of the basket, carefully setting each of the dishes out on the blanket.

"Isn't that exactly what started the war in the first place? The Iron Empire's persistence and unyielding demands." Stephen pressed, though it seemed to be more of a formal argument rather than a heated one.

"And it's my stubbornness that will help me see it through to the end, with you by my side along the way," Tony mentioned, pulling out a few napkins for both of them and gently settling them on Stephen's lap.

"I make no promises," Stephen added with a small smile.

"I know, but I also know you will do your best regardless."

Rhodey pulled out a few rods which unfolded into a canopy supports, digging them into the ground on each side of the picnic blanket and tying the tarp over the top. 

With everyone doing their part as they assembled the small setup, food was ready to be served relatively quickly. Tony handed Stephen a delicately wrapped sandwich and a slice of cake, looking to everyone before he started to unwrap his meal.

Lunch was a quiet affair, and Tony adjusted a few times uncomfortably to try and get himself into a position that was easier to eat. He didn’t miss the sidelong looks Stephen kept giving him, but when he finished eating Rhodey and Happy cleaned up the food before the magus cleared his throat softly.

“Would you mind giving us a few minutes?” the magus inquired softly as he looked to the guards, and Tony gave him a curious look, as he began to rearrange the pillows a bit.

Happy stepped forward uncertainly, and Rhodey cast Tony a questioning look for a moment that Tony almost missed as he tilted his head at Stephen. “What’s up?”

Stephen patted the pillows lightly and smiled at him. “You seemed uncomfortable. I thought I might do a little something to help with that? A thank you for taking me out for my birthday,” the magus added.

“You don’t need to thank me for giving you the barest minimum of freedom, Stephen, especially for your birthday,” Tony hesitated a moment, but gave Happy and Rhodey a nod.

The two took the horses and moved away, not entirely out of sight but far enough to give them a bit of privacy.

“Then consider it an excuse,” Stephen stated softly as he guided Tony to lay on his stomach on the pillows, carefully tugging at Tony’s shirt.

“An excuse?” he asked, tugging his shirt off before laying himself out over the pillows, “for what?”

The magus rested a leg to either side of his waist, and Tony could feel the warmth of him up against his ass as equally warm hands ran over the planes of his back gently. “An excuse to run my hands all over you, of course,” Stephen responded lowly.

Tony tried to crane his head and look over his shoulder, momentarily surprised by the magus' words.

"You know you never needed an excuse to do that, what's mine is yours," Tony mumbled, feeling his muscles turn to putty under the ministrations of Stephen's hands. "Considering it's your birthday, I'm feeling I’m getting the special treatment here." He groaned out hoarsely as he felt palms continue to drive into his back and rub along his spine.

The sorcerer continued to brush his palms smoothly over the planes of Tony's back, seeking out tense muscles and rubbing circles in the knotted flesh. Stephen started to work into a knot in his back with his palms and thumbs and Tony felt a soft groan drawn from his body, causing him to involuntarily tense under the gesture letting out a heavy breath.

At this rate, he was going to get very worked up and Stephen wasn't going to be the one on top anymore.

Stephen leaned forward and Tony didn't know if it was simply because he was being straddled by the man, or if he had only imagined the sorcerer very subtly rolling his hips against his spine.

Tony presumed he was just repositioning until he felt Stephen's chest nearly pressed against his back, the light feathery touch of his robes caressing his skin as the magus leaned in close and hovered just beside Tony's right ear.

"I'm going to need you to relax, your Imperial Majesty. It will make this so much easier." Stephen's breath tickled the outside of his ear and at that moment the emperor felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and his skin tingle.

Any blood in his head rushed south and it was suddenly so much hotter despite laying on his chest, shirtless. If it wasn't bad enough already, Stephen's hands traced over his chest and started to coil around his front, sneaking down to the lip of his pants and gently tug them down just a bit.

"I just need a little more access to your lower back..." Stephen mumbled and at that moment it set something off in Tony.

"How about we take turns, and I treat you next? I'm very good with my hands, too, you know," Tony purred playfully, starting to grow a little antsy.

“I wouldn’t be appropriately serving my Emperor that way, would I?” the magus hummed behind him, pulling his pants to rest just below the curve of his ass. The insides of his palms pressed into his upper glutes as the sorcerer pressed his weight down on the muscles, carefully running his hands up and over Tony’s back after in smooth strokes. “Besides, you looked like you were having trouble getting comfortable after the horseback riding.”

“Are you really arguing with me about taking care of you?”

“And what if I am?” He could hear the smile in the man’s voice, and a soft groan left him as Stephen’s hands found a particularly sore spot, effectively silencing him - if only for a moment.

“Why do you always have to go and make things  _ hard _ ?”

“Is that what I’m doing?” Stephen chuckled a little bit, pressing further into a knot and gently working it out, leaving Tony so absolutely malleable in his hands. “I thought I was being helpful.”

“So what, you can touch me but I can’t touch you? Is that the idea?”

“I’m reasonably certain that my touching you automatically means you are also touching me,” the man retorted with a more heartfelt laugh.

“Stop being a smartass,” Tony huffed into his arms before pressing his forehead against a pillow and groaning a bit again as he felt the slight click of his muscles being worked.

“Oh come now, don’t pretend like my ass and my wit aren’t contributing factors to why you have any interest in me at all.”

Tony turned underneath Stephen and it was rather elegant how he managed to twist under his waist and flip him over so he had Stephen laying down on his back on the grassy floor.

Half of his body was on the ground while his upper torso arched over the magus, hazel eyes searching those determined crystalline ones. There was silence as he held his breath, gaze searching the man who was picturesque of a baroque oil painting.

"Are you insinuating that I'm not paying enough attention to that beautiful face of yours, and the very attractive temperament?" Tony offered and there was nearly no hesitation as he leaned down and went for Stephen's throat. 

He pressed his lips down against his jugular like a predator going in for a kill, but took his sweet time as he inhaled the man's scent, planting kisses down along his porcelain skin leading up along the contour of his jaw. There was a moment of silence and the sound of his kisses along the magus' skin could be heard.

"Am I really supposed to believe that?" Stephen exhaled, seemingly swept up in the notion.

"Believe it or not, our relationship is built on trust and I think we've both grown quite comfortable with one another, or you wouldn't have walked into the lion's den." Tony breathed, taking hold of the skin of his neck and biting down, a hand now lifting Stephen's leg and creeping along his thigh.

Stephen looked down at him, arms coming around the emperor's neck as he continued to overtake the sorcerer.

“Wouldn’t I? What makes you so certain that I don’t like danger?” the magus smirked slightly, closing his eyes and tilting his head back slightly.

“Oh, I do remember seeing something that made me wonder about exactly that,” Tony grinned a little, easing Stephen’s shirt up and sneaking his head down to press a couple of kisses to his sternum before hesitating and bowing his head to press a few kisses along the scar over Stephen’s heart. “This… is this from your love of danger?”

“Hmm, I suppose I could tell you what happened…” the magus responded, before hooking a leg pointedly over Tony’s hip and dragging him in closer and grinding their hips together.

Tony pulled up from there, looming over Stephen and giving him a curious look. “You’re trying to distract me…”

“Am I?”

“You keep doing that,” Tony huffed softly, “but we don’t have anything here to go through with… all this,” he gestured at the magus, and Stephen laughed a bit, clearly ruffled and delighted, his throat marked with Tony’s bites.

“Hmmm, I suppose that could be a problem… but does that stop us from fooling around a little?”

“Now you sound eager.”

“You keep assuming I’m not. Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?” Stephen tilted his head, brushing his fingers through Tony’s hair before tugging lightly, and smiling all the more when Tony tilted his head to follow the man’s lead.

“I dunno, you seemed pretty stressed out by the idea of the whole ‘bride’ thing earlier,” Tony responded, relaxing as Stephen’s lips pressed to his jaw and throat, the gentle scratch of facial hair tickling along sensitive skin causing him to shiver slightly.

“Mmm, you’re overthinking things,” the magus responded, slipping his other hand over Tony’s back to rest over his exposed ass, kneading slightly at the muscles there.

“You’re still trying to distract me,” Tony grumbled softly.

“I’m trying to relax,” Stephen retorted, giving Tony’s neck a sharp nip that drew a gasp from the emperor before he buried his face in Stephen’s neck once again.

“I s’pose I’ll allow it.”

Tony's body was on fire, actions guided by the whims of his instincts. He didn't know if Stephen had always smelt this good, or if it was merely the aromas of soaps and scents he used, or even if it was simply the fact that he'd never gotten this close to him before. Regardless, he was fully submerged in it and it piqued something feral in him.

He kept his head down, buried in the crook of the magus' neck, every point of contact between them a scorching bush-fire over his skin as he wrapped himself entirely around his precious bride-to-be.

"This unpreparedness may be the death of me," Tony husked into his skin, tightening his hold, "but somehow I feel like you knew that. Quite the  _ attempted assassination. _ "

He felt Stephen's coy smile on the top of his head, "and what are you going to do about it?" Stephen probed, heaving with just as much heat underneath him.

"Make do for now," Tony growled, hands roughly yanking at the sash of Stephen's robes to loosen them in the front before he reached in and peeled down his pants. 

His hand brushed against the swell of Stephen's groin and he took hold. "It pains me to only give you half the job, even to consider taking my beautiful bride in such an unconventional way."

"You are an unconventional man, and I'm not some pinnacle of virtue." Stephen rolled his hips into that touch with wanton grace. 

"And you are spoiling your birthday gift," Tony zested. 

"You are spoiling me," Stephen responded with a playful cadence.

Tony grabbed hold of his prick and tore a light groan from the man beneath him. He pressed his own against Stephen and held them both in his palm, hot pulsing flesh on flesh as he arched to get comfortable and rest his head against Stephen's shoulder, mussing his hair. 

"And here I wanted to see how good you were on your knees." 

"Is that really how you wanted this to go?" Stephen rolled his hips and Tony cracked a smile, hand stroking deliberately up and down the both of them. 

"No, I suppose not, that's no way to treat my future bride now is it? You are technically royalty after all."

“You could still have me on my knees if you wanted to,” the magus pointed out, his hips shifting beneath Tony slowly in a counter rhythm to Tony’s movements. “We can’t very well be riding around the city with a mess…”

“The stream is right there unless you’re feeling eager,” Tony grumbled softly in his spot, carefully balancing himself on one arm as he matched Stephen’s pace, thrusting into his hand. His only response was Stephen’s soft moan and the feeling of his fingers curling into Tony’s back as though to hold him closer.

As much as Tony would’ve loved to draw it out and utterly indulge himself at the moment, there was a consistent voice in his head reminding him that there would be better opportunities - more private opportunities. There would be other chances to utterly ravish this man, to lay him out over his bed and peel off every bit of clothing, to feel skin on skin against one another and watch Stephen lose himself entirely in feeling.

That opportunity wasn’t now. This wasn’t a chance to take things slowly, so much as it was a moment to test the waters, have fun and give his bride-to-be a little affection.

Stephen seemed to be on much the same page as it didn’t take long for the magus’ breath to hitch in a rather telling manner, though it was the twitch of his dick in Tony’s hand that made it entirely clear what was happening. The magus bore the brunt of the mess as Tony came shortly after him, leaving only parts of his own stomach and hand covered in their mutual cum, while Stephen’s stomach, chest and sides were something of a mess with white ribbons of it-  _ including his robes. _

Tony nearly collapsed against him, though in honour of preserving his own image, he settled with rolling off to Stephen's side and curling in against his neck.

For a moment both of them sat there, heaving and trying to catch their breath for minutes on end that felt like near ages until Tony finally pulled himself up, hovering over Stephen with a grin.

"Well, that was quite the treat..." He wiped the sweat from his brow and offered a hand which Stephen accepted. As the magus sat up he pecked him on the cheek ever so briefly and started to separate his robe from his undershirt. "Assuming it was but a taste of what's to come, or so I'm hoping." 

Stephen reached up and smoothed his hair out which was very clearly mussed from their romp.

"Though, my garb is in less than optimal condition right now." He peered down at himself and gestured to the white blotches. Tony withdrew a handkerchief quickly and began to wipe away the evidence.

It was moderately successful with relative traces of leftover remains.

"One moment." Tony offered and he slung his cloak over Stephen's shoulders.

Tony had to admit that Stephen looked good in red, and looked even better in his clothing. The cloak nearly clung to Stephen as the magus pulled closed the edges and nodded.

"Well, it is getting quite chilly out here." He added.

"Of course, and that's exactly why you're sweating." The emperor winked playfully, offering Stephen a hand to his feet which he gladly accepted.

“Of course, precisely,” Stephen echoed, rolling his eyes. He got to his feet and began to straighten himself out some, carefully tucking himself away and glancing briefly towards the guards.

Even as Tony started to put himself together, Stephen began to pack up the pillows carefully, wrapping them in the blanket that had been laid out, before starting to take down the tent. By the time Tony was finished cleaning himself up, Rhodey and Happy had joined Stephen in cleaning things up and packing things back onto the horses.

It was as things were being put back on the horses that Tony noticed it, from the corner of his eye: Stephen’s fingers slid over the edge of the cloak and he looked down at it with fascination. Tony couldn’t help the little smile on his face as he watched the motion, wondering briefly if he ought to give his bride-to-be more gifts if he was so pleased with something as simple as a cloak to help him cover up.

“You like it that much?”

The magus jumped, looking startled as he looked up at Tony when he spoke, before tucking his hands away beneath the cloak. “It’s warm enough. Sufficient for the purpose of making sure I’m not dressed inappropriately for travel.”

“Think you’re still up for going into the city, or did I wear you out already?” Tony inquired cheekily as he offered a hand to Stephen, to lead him over to the waiting mare. Stephen took it after a moment.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing the city if we still have some time for that,” the magus responded, allowing Tony to help him up onto the mare before Tony climbed up himself.

“We should keep it short if we are going. Are you amenable to a brief tour before retiring back to the palace?”

“Whatever you think is best, your Imperial Majesty.”

Tony glanced over at Rhodey and the man took up position ahead of them, with Happy following behind as they began to make their way out of the forest and back towards civilization. 

“I know you wanted to see more of the city, but we should arrange that for a time when we have a little more daylight. Just to be safe. I don’t want anything to happen to you,” Tony explained to Stephen quietly, watching the man’s arms wrap around his waist. He felt the slight nod of Stephen’s head against his shoulder and smiled. “We can make our way through the promenade first, show you some of the sights briefly, take the long way home, so to speak.”

“Sounds lovely,” his bride-to-be responded in his spot, sounding quiet and a hint breathless, though his arms squeezed around Tony briefly in acceptance.


	4. Chapter 4

Their trek towards the city wasn't brief but the time seemed to fly by.

The route was planned by the guards during their brief reprieve, and it was clear considering they seemed to take designated side rows through the different districts, most of which were upper-echelon living and others being military regulated areas or certain blocks much more highly patrolled and policed.

Despite that, Stephen was able to get to see the city as close as he'd ever been to given that magi were not frequent visitors of the city unless under arrest and guard.

Most of their trek was by the cliffside and highways after that, avoiding most populated areas for their safety. While Stephen appeared to enjoy the venture itself, Tony enjoyed the time they spent together, and the chill from the slowly encroaching night air couldn’t detract from the warmth he felt with Stephen pressed so closely to his back.

Their travels ended at the seat of the palace walls, where the gates were opened and the small caravan was let in through a fortified side entrance.

Tony followed Rhodey back to the stables, where they dismounted, and he let out a groan finding his back stiff and bottom sore from hours on end of horseback riding.

Their travels had grown quiet more than halfway through, now only perking up as they dismounted their horse, Tony helping Stephen down and heading towards the doors.

"I hope you enjoyed your trip through town," Tony mentioned with some pride.

"I did, but I would have liked to see more than just a scripted tour and more of the actual character of the city," Stephen added, though his smile belied his query nevertheless.

"What? That was as good as it gets! I took you through only the finest parts!" Tony almost seemed affronted as they walked down the palace halls.

"That's just it, there wasn't any character to it. I want to see the city for what it is. Not just what you put on a pedestal."

"I was concerned for our safety. You don't seem to understand that it's not as easy to just walk through the city when you're in my position, especially not with just two bodyguards," Tony added, though once they reached his quarters he held the door open for Stephen to enter his room.

There was an iota of hesitation before Stephen obliged him and walked on in. Tony bid farewell to Rhodey and Happy immediately after and all of his attention was on Stephen.

“I was beginning to get the impression I wasn’t allowed in here,” the magus began quietly, his eyes clearly flicking about the room, leaving Tony to give him a curious look.

“Why wouldn’t you be allowed in here? Especially as my betrothed that… seems counter-intuitive,” he pointed out, watching Stephen hover in his spot before he gestured towards a loveseat in the sitting area.

The magus followed slowly, the sounds of his shoes against the pale marble flooring the only indicator of that as Tony began to pour a couple of drinks, taking a seat and kicking out of his own shoes before looking up. The magus’ fingers were curled into the cloak he was still wearing, though the moment Stephen noticed Tony’s shoes were off, he stopped to remove his own shoes.

“I suppose with the idea that you intend to marry me in mind that  _ does _ seem counterintuitive. But, admittedly, that hadn’t been the impression I’d had.”

“Sit,” Tony responded to that, trying to figure out what other intentions Stephen figured he had for him.

“My clothes aren’t exactly clean after earlier-”

“You can strip before you sit if you really care that much,” Tony offered a playful smirk at that, before shrugging. “But I don’t really care about that. Just make yourself comfortable. Apparently, we have things to talk about.”

“Is talking really why you invited me into your room?” Stephen inquired, still hesitating a moment before taking the drink Tony offered him and perching on the edge of the loveseat.

“Not exclusively, but yes, talking too.”

“What  _ are _ your intentions, then?” Stephen inquired as he cradled his glass for a moment, watching him.

“Well, I would like to finish what we started earlier if you’re not terribly opposed.”

“Why should I be opposed? If you’re going to be my husband, being opposed to sexual advances would also be counter-intuitive, wouldn’t it?”

Tony watched him as he took a long sip of the drink, leaning back in his seat. “You seem taken aback by this whole marriage thing. Should I be asking what it is that you were expecting when you were brought here?”

“I was expecting to go home. I thought I’d made that fairly clear,” Stephen responded as he cradled the glass again, shifting in his spot as though he’d collected himself, and looking at Tony. “I expected you were going to take Master Minoru as a bride.”

“So when I chose you… what?”

“So when you chose me, I thought it might be in spite. Then I assumed some sort of slavery. Eventually, I anticipated you wanted me as some sort of concubine…”

“The appropriate word is ‘consort,’” Tony pointed out.

“To be a consort indicates there’s a legal proceeding relating to a wedding. I hardly anticipated you were looking for anything like that from me.”

“You don’t seem as though you’re exactly eager. Is it the marriage thing that’s putting you off, or is it something to do with me?”

“It’s nothing like that,” Stephen shook his head, watching Tony before glancing down at his glass. “Or… I suppose it’s a little bit about the marriage. A lot of it is the realization that I don’t know enough about the Empire or its customs. I’m not certain what would be expected from me as a consort, or even what a marriage ceremony might look like here.”

“You mentioned your duty is to your people, yes?" Tony inched in a little closer and Stephen cupped the goblet with both hands.

"Yes, first and foremost." He took a sip and Tony slid in closer, resting his arm over the back of the love-seat as he folded his leg over the other to minimize the space between them.

"And my duty is to my people. That duty includes putting an end to this war, for both of us." He rotated his palm and the red wine in his hand, Stephen holding the glass to his lips before lowering it, taking a rather large sip prior.

"And…?" he prompted, looking back at Tony.

"And, I think this is a fair exchange. This is only going to be as hard on you as you make it. I think both our mutual interests are in line here. If I'd simply wanted a harem of women or men I could fuck I would have found much easier, and considerably more willing, participants rather than looking for someone like you." He paused and took a sip.

"It just so happened to be to my benefit that I got myself a head-strong beauty such as yourself. I'm pretty transparent with my wants and needs, I have no ulterior motives here, at least none you would be opposed to." Tony quirked his brow and put leaned into Stephen's shoulder.

The magus brought his glass to his lips, staying quiet.

"I'm not after anything from you, Stephen. While we have tons of time to get to know each other physically, and I'd like to make this somewhat meaningful, perhaps getting to know each other on a personal level may make it easier." Tony gave Stephen a moment to push him away, and when he didn't he snuck his arm around the taller man.

"I suppose that makes sense," Stephen exhaled.

Tony gently ran a hand over his thigh along with the silk that covered it, working up the fabric with a gentle stroke.

"You know, any other authoritarian figure wouldn't give you as much freedom as I do." He quirked his brow.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better about all of this?" Stephen let out a breathy huff, easing up a bit.

"Perhaps, but I'm mostly bragging here." Tony fluttered his eyelashes.

"I couldn't tell if the room wasn't enough of a statement." Stephen swivelled his head and gestured with his other hand and Tony's smile only widened.

“What, you don’t like it? Isn’t it befitting of an emperor?”

“You don’t find it ostentatious? Marble, gold, and red…”

“Family colours,” Tony pointed out. “Besides, isn’t it bright and inviting?”

“I think we have different interpretations of what ‘inviting’ looks like. And I’m well aware of your family colours,” Stephen lifted a wrist pointedly, showing off the gold and red iron on his wrist. “I see them every day.”

“Well, eventually you’ll be part of that family, too. That’s sort of how marriage works,” Tony shrugged, sipping at his drink casually. “I hope your room is working out well enough for you, though. I suppose I haven’t asked, is there anything you need? Your room is a little dark, comparatively-”

“It’s fine,” Stephen interjected. “The room is aesthetically more like home, it gives me… something of a reprieve from things here.” It went unspoken, but there was something in the way Stephen said those words that made Tony shift uncomfortably.

“Do you feel unsafe elsewhere?”

Stephen was quiet for a couple moments before he shook his head. “No. There are places I feel safe.”

“... the library, the greenhouse…?”

“There’s a reason I spend most of my time in those places,” the magus nodded, finishing off his drink.

“Has Obie-”

“No,” Stephen looked up at him pointedly. “I’ve barely even seen him in passing. But no. Don’t worry about it.”

Tony frowned slightly at that, before sighing and reaching to refill Stephen’s drink. “If there ever is anything you need that I can provide, Stephen… I will take care of you if you’ll let me. But you need to tell me these things. I want you to feel like you can talk to me about things.”

Sipping his own drink, Tony leaned in further and set his drink aside. “There’s a lot I’m willing to do for you…”

Stephen tilted his head a little before setting his drink aside as well, shifting in his spot to rest a knee on either side of Tony’s hips. “We don’t have to talk if you’ve got other things on your mind.”

Tony offered a small smirk at that, resting his hands on either of Stephen’s hips before carefully lifting him and getting to his feet, allowing Stephen to wrap his legs around his waist. He carried him over to the bed with ease, draping him across it like he weighed nothing. “If you’re going to be so persistent, then I can’t really say no, can I?”

The magus adjusted only slightly to make himself comfortable before he carefully removed the cloak and tossed it aside and out of the way. “I assume that here, at least, you have all the supplies you need?”

“Of course,” Tony grinned brightly at that, running his fingers over the man’s already desecrated shirt. “I have everything I need here. Including you. And in such a bright room, I can see every little bit of how gorgeous you are…”

"There's been an awful lot of talk about this, so let's see if you can really back up your claim, your Imperial Majesty. I'm looking forward to the rest of my present." Stephen let his arms go slack as Tony peeled the top of his robes from his form, taking no time to divest the magus of every other garment to follow.

"My words will not fall short of my abilities, I assure you." Tony grinned, shedding his shirt so he was left in his slacks. Regardless, he was vividly displaying his state of being which no amount of fabric could enshroud.

He leaned over, fumbling around with one of the drawers, grabbing some oils from the nightstand and tossing them down on the bed beside them. He lit a strand of incense before he turned his attention back to Stephen.

Stephen heaved beneath him as he peeled the remains of the man's deep blue robes off with deliberate care. Having stripped him entirely, Tony rubbed some oil on his palms and began to run his hands delicately all over the sorcerer’s chest and body, smoothing the lightly scented essential oil over his skin.

His palms travelled over the surface of Stephen's stomach, working up to the peaks of his pectorals and smoothing over his collarbone and shoulders. They continued to glide over his neck, wrapping around the back before swivelling and rubbing down the exterior of his shoulders, massaging the muscles of his biceps and then finishing off in unison at his wrists. 

They found their way back, travelling over his hips and then up to the magus' teat where his thumbs settled at the peaks of his nipples, gently caressing and massaging the body oil into his skin. He heard the heavy exhale from Stephen, and watched as his chest raised and lowered with shallowed breaths under his delicate ministrations.

"I never expected you to be one for taking his time getting down to the most important parts." Stephen murmured from his heated state.

"All good things come with time," Tony whispered playfully as he picked up Stephen by his hips and pressed his blatant hard-on against his rear. He continued to simultaneously spread the oils over his thighs and down past his calves. "I'm sure you have your rituals, as I have mine," he added as he kissed the inner side of his raised leg and pressed his hands to his hips.

"Fair enough, is all of this really necessary?" Stephen's half-lidded gaze focused on Tony and the emperor only grinned.

"Patience," was all he said as he finished coating the man's body in a shimmering glaze of oil. He then reached for another bottle, rubbing the substance in his hands, capped and discarded it.

He didn't even wait for any more protests from the sorcerer as his index and middle finger playfully pressed into the crevasse of his cheeks, slowly slipping in as the other took hold of Stephen's semi-hard girth.

He took great pleasure in watching the man let out a soft surprised noise, arching his back and peering on as the light caught the sheen of oil across his body, lighting up the peaks and grooves of his form. Even more so as his fingers pressed in further and his other began to gently stroke Stephen's prick in even steady motions, spreading the newer liquid over its surface.

"Tell me how  _ badly _ you want your present," he cooed playfully.

“Am I supposed to beg for it?” Stephen huffed softly, his legs tightening around Tony’s waist insistently.

“That certainly wouldn’t hurt,” The emperor teased, nudging his finger against Stephen’s rim and pulling back when the magus tried to press back against it.

“I’m not… going to beg for you to fuck me,” the magus ground out.

“Then we’re going to be here for a while, hmm? Or you just don’t really want it that badly…” the emperor tsked softly.

“I will flip you over and ride you myself if you don’t-” the magus’ words were cut off as Tony grinned cheekily down at him, jamming his fingers in rather suddenly and cutting off his words.

“Good enough,” he chuckled, carefully slicking the man inside before beginning to stretch and scissor his fingers.

Stephen’s thighs loosened around his waist as he relaxed his head back against the blankets, his dark hair framing his face and contrasting the pale golden colour that adorned his bed. His eyes slid closed as he gave a soft groan at Tony’s probing fingers, and the emperor smiled to himself.

“Is that what you wanted, sweetheart? Something inside of you, just like this? Or do you want more?”

He felt the sorcerer's muscles tense and relax around his fingers, and then the bucking of his hips as he drove in up to his knuckles, nudging into his betrothed's rump. Stephen's attempts to contain his gasps were clearly failing as his back arched further and his mouth opened, letting out a silent scream that tapered into a breathy groan.

Tony thrust into him mercilessly after he'd warmed him up, paying equal attention to his hardened prick before suddenly withdrawing, giving the magus a moment to catch his breath.

He undid his slacks and parked himself between Stephen's legs, the sorcerer's thighs on each side of his hips as he lewdly stroked his half-erect cock to full stiffness against the space between Stephen's cock and thigh.

"You really are awful," Stephen mumbled softly as he caught his breath, looking down at Tony, heaving in and out.

"And you really are just as beautiful without clothes as you are dressed in the finest silks of the empire." Tony shot right back and he probably didn't imagine the other man turning even redder as he turned his head away.

He took his sweet time, making sure Stephen felt him get hard, that his lovely betrothed knew what he was doing to him. It was a display of both libido and possession and he was enjoying the sharp looks Stephen was shooting him.

He stroked the both of them gently a few times, sharing the slickness he'd coated him with before he pulled away, missing the warmth of his skin before he prodded the blunt head of his cock into the tender warm flesh of Stephen's tight ass.

The magus’ fingers curled tightly into the blankets beneath him as his head rolled off to one side, exposing the column of pale, kissmarked flesh that Tony had laid claim to earlier. He grinned a little to himself, enjoying the marks of claim as he slowly pressed in, leaning in to press a few kisses to the red and slowly purpling marks.

“You’re a lot tighter than I expected,” he murmured against the other’s throat, feeling Stephen shudder slightly beneath him, “given what you were saying before.”

“It’s… been a little while,” Stephen responded breathily from his spot, groaning deeply as Tony seated himself fully. “Besides, muscles don’t just… loosen like that with use. They’d fail to serve their purpose if they did.”

“That’s quite enough medical mumbo-jumbo out of you right now,” Tony teased, dragging his teeth along Stephen’s neck and enjoying the way the magus’ thighs twitched and tensed around him. “Ready?” he inquired lowly, his tongue running along the curve of the magus’ ear.

“Of course I’m ready,” Stephen huffed softly, “just… fuck me already.”

"Beautiful as a flower, but you've got the mouth of a sailor on you," Tony grinned.

Arms were encircling his shoulders, clawing at his back through his shirt as he rocked up into Stephen. He could feel the magus flinch, tense, and relax with each gentle ebb and pull before he had himself up to the hairline of his stomach with each blow. The sorcerer's hindquarters arched upwards into him as he filled the tight space with consecutive forward movement, the silence in the room all but filled with the sound of a flickering fire in the corner and the sharp kissing of their forms.

He gave Stephen no time to settle, relishing in the soft squeaks and exhales as the man vaguely struggled with his size. Tony, puffing up with pride as he enjoyed himself, resting his lips over Stephen's heaving abdomen and wordlessly seizing him around his stomach in an embrace as he quickened the pace of his thrusts once more.

It felt so fucking good to have his betrothed like this. The man was a work of art in his own right and it was so much different than any casual fling with one of his concubines, considering there was something more than just a flicker of appeal through looks alone.

Stephen’s form shuddered and twisted under him, the magus’ fingers moving between holding the back of Tony’s shirt and twisting into the blankets beneath him. Tony’s arms hooked beneath Stephen’s shoulders to keep him from sliding too much across the bed as his thrusts became steadily firmer.

The soft hitches in Stephen’s breathing spoke easily enough of Tony’s skill, though the muffled sharp cries of pleasure were still considerably more rewarding, particularly in conjunction with Stephen scrambling to hold him closer. 

Today was, by far, the closest they’d ever been. Stephen wasn’t typically so receptive to Tony being too close which made this moment that much more special to the emperor.

The magus was clearly beyond simply allowing for touches as he actively reached out to pull Tony closer at times, his body arching into Tony’s and his hands worming their way into the emperor’s shirt and carefully dragging his nails over Tony’s back. It wasn’t until he hit a specific spot that Stephen cried out rather loudly, digging his nails into Tony’s back hard enough that it felt as though it might leave marks.

“Mmm, is that the spot, beautiful?” Tony purred cheekily at that, though he didn’t waste time waiting for Stephen’s response, thrusting hard into that spot again to hear the man’s moan echo off of marble tiles.

It wasn't long boring into that spot before he felt Stephen's body contract around him, tighten and seize up entirely before his body went slack and he watched in sheer delight as the man became unravelled under him.

Hot cum shot up and glazed both their chests, and Tony continued to bear down into him, not entirely done yet as the man underneath him seemed to drift further and further from reality with each thrust.

It was minutes more of Tony enjoying the man's entirely relinquished form before he reached climax. Having squeezed even tighter if possible, he finished and finally collapsed on the magus' stomach, heaving in and out like he'd had the thrill of his life.

He took his sweet time, riding out the post-orgasm before he rolled off of the magus, half tempted to take things further in a much more close and intimate sense but decided against it.

"Well, I don't know about you..." he managed to roll himself off of Stephen and took up the spot beside him, "but that was a damn thrill, I feel like I've stolen your present." He chuckled softly, taking a little longer to catch the rest of his breath.

“Mmm?” the response was quiet, as though the magus was in a daze, or half-conscious. When he glanced over to Stephen, the man had lazily rolled his head to look at Tony in return, his face flush and his hair rather wild and messy. “That was… new. Different.”

“... is that a good thing?” Tony raised an eyebrow at him.

“It was less magical?” Stephen responded, and Tony chuckled a bit to himself at that.

“I’m not sure how I’m supposed to take that.”

“It’s… just a cultural difference, I suppose. There’s nothing bad, or wrong… it was nice. Just different.”

“How does it differ?”

“Maybe one day I’ll show you,” the magus responded, before slowly sitting up. “Thank you for today,” he added, leaving Tony to give him a curious look.

“Are you planning on going somewhere?”

“Did… you want me to stay here? You’ve made rather a mess of me twice now, and it might be best that I clean up and-”

“Go ahead. Go clean up and get some rest, I’ll just sit here and mope and cuddle a pillow instead,” Tony sighed exaggeratedly at that, and Stephen rolled his eyes.

“Did you want me to stay and cuddle with you? In my current state? Don’t you want me to wipe down or something first, at least?”

“Come cuddle me,” Tony pouted in response. “Someone else can clean up later when you want to go to bed, just stay with me for now?”

The magus hesitated slightly before laying himself back down and Tony promptly curled himself up against the man’s entirely unblemished back. “Mmm, see? That’s not so bad, right?”

There was a silence, and Tony took the chance to shuffle himself closer.

"If it's such a bother I could bathe you," Tony murmured into the back of his neck and Stephen seemed to tense slightly.

"Excuse me?" Stephen merely let slip out as he hugged himself, though Tony's arms around his waist partially interfered.

"You heard me, you were so concerned with our current state I was merely offering that as an option. Plus, you can't deny that sitting in a nice hot bath isn't the most relaxing thing in the world," Tony continued with a gentle chuckle and Stephen took a moment to contemplate that. "Kill two birds with one stone."

"I suppose... I could let your Imperial Majesty treat me on such an occasion," Stephen mumbled softly, turning to look over his shoulder at Tony.

At that moment Tony picked him up, carrying his bride-to-be with ease to the basin and set him down gently in the bubbly water. He procured soaps and lightly lathered the man's shoulders with delicate care before he divested himself of his remaining clothes and slipped in to join him, reaching down and continuing to clean the sorcerer by his waist.

Before any questions arose he withdrew, reaching for a set of soaps nearest and dropping them into the bubbling waters.

"We are royalty, and this is your birthday after all. I believe this calls for some special treatment." Tony smirked, sidling in next to Stephen.

Stephen seemed a little overwhelmed, and Tony was content to nestle in close, resting his head on the taller man's shoulder as he relaxed in the foaming waters.

* * *

Stephen didn’t stay the night with him. After their mostly quiet bath, the magus excused himself to sleep and Tony let him go. 

Over the next few weeks, Tony did his best to balance time with Stephen and his work going over the various treaty proposals and preparations for the upcoming wedding. On the one hand he assumed Stephen would want to be a part of the organization process, on the other he had to recognize that Stephen’s heritage wasn’t exactly something he could clearly have represented at an affair like this.

As much as the wedding was about uniting their two nations, Stephen’s people would not be in attendance and in many ways this was meant as a show to make certain that the people of the Iron Empire would see Stephen as one of them. Their marriage would make Stephen a subject of the Iron Empire officially, along with tying Stephen to Tony for a lifetime, and hopefully beginning to mend the damage between their nations.

In the end, he and Pepper did the majority of the organization for that - Pepper taking over, in particular, when he had political business to attend to - and the rest of the wedding was left as something of a surprise for Stephen, he assumed. He couldn’t imagine that weddings were much different in Vishan, after all.

Today was such a special day, for a few reasons. Pepper had taken the time to clear his schedule for the day and it was also the first day he’d had in a long time to spend entirely with Stephen. For their wedding.

To his delight when he’d retrieved Stephen in the morning, the man already wore the robes Tony had sent to him that were more in the style of the Iron Empire - and as Tony had expected, he looked amazing in them. They’d gone over the ceremony earlier in the morning, discussions of who would be in attendance and how they would be addressed as well as how a wedding looked in the Empire.

As it turned out, a wedding looked very different from a Vishani wedding, though Stephen didn’t elaborate on that so much as paying avid attention to make certain he didn’t get anything wrong..

It wasn’t until Stephen was being dressed in his wedding regalia that the day became less relaxing. 

“Will I be wearing these for the wedding, too?” the magus asked, sounding a bit resigned as he gestured to the irons fixed to his wrists.

“Yes, of course. They’ll go nicely with the rest of your attire, and we’ll accent them with some more jewelry, I think,” Tony responded.

“So I’m getting married in chains?” Stephen retorted, and Tony rolled his eyes at that, looking up at the man with a flat expression.

“They’re for your safety, Stephen.”

“They’re not for my safety. They’re for  _ your _ perceived safety, and to allow you to maintain this illusion of yours that everything is perfect,” he responded, his eyes fixed on Tony and colder than the emperor anticipated.

“Leave us,” he stated sternly, and the handmaid quickly bowed and exited the room, leaving Tony alone with his betrothed. “You wanna run that by me again?”

“You heard me the first time. But sure, let’s go over the myriad issues with what’s going on, shall we? You’ve dressed this whole thing up into a pretty package and convinced yourself that we’re going to have some kind of loving, trusting romantic relationship-”

“You haven’t exactly made any suggestion that it would be otherwise,” Tony interjected, frowning deeply at the man.

“Was I supposed to? How, exactly, do you expect that I would do that? I’m in the heart of a foreign country, formerly enemy territory, where I already know plenty of people would love to see me dead, not sitting around being treated prettily. My options are to marry you, where if I fall out of favour I still have a title as some kind of protection, or to be… what, a concubine? Some passing fancy where if I fall out of favour, I’ll be lucky if I do keep my head-”

“You really think I’d execute-”

“You are  _ not the only person _ who has a stake in this!” Stephen raised his voice a bit, staring down at Tony from the dais he’d been set on as he was dressed. “You grow bored of me, I end up passed off to someone else or cast out onto the street. A magus with no magic. An enemy in a foreign realm with no way to defend themselves. How do you think that turns out?

“In the meantime you’re sitting here utterly oblivious - or perhaps entirely uncaring - playing house and pretending everything is fine and perfect, talking about how our relationship is built on  _ trust _ , pretending you care about me while making it clear you care more about having me  _ under control _ than actually getting to know me. Oh, sure, it’s fine if I act out a little bit here and there. That’s just fun and games, and we both know it. Because in the end, you’re the one with all the power in this relationship.”

Tony whipped his head to the side. He had his arguments he wanted to come back with but today was not the day. For a man that could bite back tenfold, he picked his battles and bit his tongue.

There had been some semblance of happiness within these trying times, something to look forward to in contrast to the hovering dark clouds of his father's inevitable demise. Now someone who he'd originally perceived as a friend, at least, had turned and reared an ugly face to him.

"Let's just get this over with then." Tony had no more words as he turned and left.

The wedding proceeded.

Both bride and groom walked the aisle, the crowd cheering, almost a mockery of what the two naturally felt. Tony had thought he could make things easier on Stephen, keep him safe in the ways he thought possible and get to know him - and then to have any attempts of that thrown back at him...?

Their kiss at the altar was nothing but show as the two saved face, and after the ceremony Tony had disappeared back to his quarters, shedding his wedding regalia and isolating himself.

He'd fulfilled his father's dying wishes, and that was important, right? Wed an heir to the Vishan nation in order to unite the realms,  _ for whatever good that would do. _

He thought he had a hold on things, and just so, despite fulfilling his father's legacy he'd completely let slip control of those faculties. Despite the control he had he couldn’t help but feel as though he had none at all, and if possible felt so much farther away from his family and sense of self than ever before.

He'd done his best to show hospitality in the ways he could, protect someone he had some semblance of feelings for the best he could - and for what? Have it all regurgitated back in his face.

Arguments were meaningless, Stephen was set in his ways and anything else on top of that would be wasted and spent energy which was better invested in the current events. 

Those such events being his father's health and the current treaties, which was exactly where Tony had found himself over the days following the ceremony: kneeling down beside his father's decaying body as any sort of self was lost to a curse placed by magic-wielders, and how ironic was that of all things?


	5. Chapter 5

He hadn’t seen Stephen in days, which suited him fine. 

Pepper had gotten them the few days after the wedding off for celebrations; despite that, Tony had yet to see his consort since their union - no consummation, or breakfast in bed, none of the things he’d imagined.

The only people he really saw in those days were his father and his guards, it was a relief in its own way as he’d sunk into something of a depressive episode. 

The idea of being trapped in a loveless marriage was one he’d considered since he was a child, knowing his responsibilities, but he’d had hopes for things with Stephen. Though, the dashed hopes hurt the most.

He made efforts to try and see things through Stephen’s perspective, but at the same time he continued to come up with blanks. He’d made attempts to make sure Stephen felt safe talking to him, to let him know that he was free to say what he needed, to try and work things out - he tried to make sure Stephen could have a healthy relationship with him. 

_ It wasn’t his fault if Stephen didn’t listen. _

That wasn’t even to speak of the trouble that would come of Stephen running around without his irons - things that Tony had made a concerted effort in making sure were beautiful. All in hopes of making them less offensive to Stephen, which apparently had been a useless endeavour. If Stephen thought people treated him unjustly now, then he had no idea what people would do if they knew that he was unleashed.

So what if they were for Tony’s protection too?

Given what the magi had done to his father at Stephen’s own admittance, it was only sensible that he made sure to grant himself some kind of protection. But that didn’t change the fact that they were for Stephen’s own benefit, as well, and so he continued to justify it that way.

The thoughts continued to swirl around in his head on and off, sometimes working on how he could repair the situation, other times entirely too exhausted with life to think he expected better.

They were tumultuous days. Despite their fighting, Stephen’s absence still took it's a toll, and so Tony sequestered himself away to his private workshop, off-limits to all but his closest kin.

His workshop was his haven, his solace. Aside from being the spoiled son of an emperor, he was also a paragon of ingenuity and the projects kept within the confines of his private labs were unquantifiable to most of his court.

Brilliant mock-ups of metal suits, self-autonomous armour, vehicles that could travel great distances, and that was merely the tip of the iceberg. There were androids and robots that could do his bidding, weapons of mass destruction all kept quiet and veiled from prying eyes. It was a bounty of technology well beyond his empire’s current technological status and all birthed out of a necessity to invent and release the everyday stressors of the empire's burdens.

His most recent project - the autonomous Mk.1, a suit of armour designed for peace-keeping. It was the pride and joy of his collection, which until recently had been starting to collect dust as Tony found himself paying more attention to Stephen than spending time tinkering in his workshop.

But now? It was the first time in a while he'd been able to finally get back and spend some time alone. Alone with his mind and his inventions to think through, or if he so desired - _ not to think at all. _

It was four days later that the rest of the palaces goings-on caught up with him. He’d been on his way to see his father when he noticed a couple of the maids whispering amidst themselves outside of Stephen’s room, the door standing open where a couple of guards came and went. A part of him wanted to ask Rhodey, who had just stepped out of the room, what was going on. While another part of him was bitterly determined that he didn’t care.

It didn’t take long for his concern to win over.

“Rhodey?”

The man looked up at him and straightened pointedly, giving him a salute. “We’re doing our best to take care of things, please leave it to us.”

“... leave what to you? What’s going on?”

His best friend hesitated a little bit, looking around for a moment before directing Tony back towards his own room where he promptly closed the door behind him and gestured for Tony to a seat. It wasn’t until Tony sat down that Rhodey spoke up again.

“Stephen is missing.”

“... he took off?” Tony ran a hand through his hair. “After everything he said-”

“We have reason to believe he didn’t leave of his own volition,” Rhodey clarified. Tony looked up sharply.

“Explain.”

“One of the windows in the greenhouse was broken. The glass is on the inside of the garden, suggesting that the window was broken from the outside. Part of what appears to be Stephen’s wedding attire was found caught on some branches… along with some blood.”

“This was just discovered today?” Rhodes’ hesitation was enough to leave Tony to stand who made no efforts to mask his concern. “How long ago? Why wasn’t I made aware?”

“Lord Stane suggested that you shouldn’t be disturbed by this until we had more information-”

“ _ How long _ ?”

“We didn’t know it was Stephen that was taken until yesterday afternoon. We’ve known about the greenhouse break-in for three days.”

"Have the guards sweep every inch of this city and beyond, put out a reward for his safe return," Tony spoke sharply. At that moment he was hyper-focused on one thing and one thing alone as he stormed down the hallways to Obediah's quarters.

It was without a shred of doubt that he knew the man was behind this and he would fight tooth and nail for the answers he needed. 

He was nearly halfway down the hall before Rhodey sped up and grabbed Tony's arm to stop him and nodded towards one of the side-doors, a palace guard in their wake trying to keep up.

"Tones, a second."

"I don't have time for this." He jerked his arm away and Rhodey grabbed it again.

"Yes, you do." He gave Tony a hardened look.

The guard joined them as Rhodey pulled Tony into one of the conference rooms, shutting the door behind them and making sure they weren't followed.

"Coulson here says he saw a handful of armed guards take someone from the library away the other night. He followed them as far as he could." The guard in question nodded and Tony's attention was immediately on him.

"And?!" The emperor hissed, causing the guard to recoil.

"He was removed from the city, and we lost sight of him when they went into the oil-fields." Tony cussed, knowing exactly what that meant.

"No man's land, of course. I swear Obediah's going to-"

"Wait, Tones!" Rhodey grabbed his arm again. "We need to do this without Obediah having any clue that we know, this is why Coulson told us. As soon as he gets any hint that we know, that could be the last of our clues."

The guard nodded before speaking up.

"If I may, your Imperial Majesty - I believe he's being held at one of the radicalist guilds in the oil fields, there was mention of one of the unaligned towns of Rowan along the way. It's free-territory out there where we unfortunately have no jurisdiction," Coulson added. "I can have Clint scope-"

"There's no time for that. Rhodey, you need to come with me now, it needs to be just us." Tony nodded and to Coulson. "Thank you,"

"An honour your highness." The guard stood straight at attention for him.

Tony and Rhodey proceeded to the workshop without delay, and Tony immediately led the captain of the guard to his personal workshop.

"Tones, we are not going to be able to do this alone - it's two of us against a terrorist organization. Even if we had the means, our odds would still be stacked against us."

"I have a plan." He led Rhodey through the workshop. "It wouldn't have worked if I had no idea where Stephen was, but there is a way I can track him if I can get close enough." He invited Rhodey through a door into his facility, tucked away in his room. His workshop, one which nearly no-one knew about.

Rhodey was in awe at the technological marvels, things far too advanced for him to even discern, with rows of disassembled android suits on display in pieces as he followed Tony through his lab.

“I hope you can handle these,” Tony reached up and patted one of two nearly identical suits of armor, peering back at Rhodes as it sprung to life.

* * *

The last good meal he’d had felt like forever ago, which might have been one reason he felt so sick. 

He wasn’t even sure whether it was day or night right now. His head was foggy both from hunger and from a blow he’d taken yesterday after being something of a smartass, as his lip still felt raw from where it had split.

His tongue darted out over his dry lips as he grunted softly, trying to move from his spot and get his bearings, which lasted about as long as it took for people to notice he was awake, apparently.

Before he could even sit up, a hand pressed to the back of his neck, shoving him down uncomfortably, his face pressed against some combination of broken concrete, gravel and dirt. “Stay down,” the man ordered quietly.

He attempted to adjust himself to be more comfortable and felt something sharp press against his thigh. “Not that. Keep that up. Simple enough instruction for a well-behaved bitch, isn’t it?”

The chorus of chuckles and jeering around him was what alerted him to the presence of other people around him, and he took the barest moment to open his eyes, immediately regretting it as his vision swam. He could feel the uncomfortable lace rubbing against his skin, and the eyes on him in his kneeling position. He felt the cold, sharp object from before over his thigh and ass cheek, and the tickle of rapidly cooling liquid that followed the line -  _ blood _ .

He knew better than to ask what they wanted by now. 

They’d made a game of tearing off his wedding clothes and left him naked for a full day, locked in a cage clearly designed for a dog. He didn’t know when or how they’d gotten him into this get-up, but it definitely wasn’t an improvement based on the way they looked at him.

“Poor thing missed his wedding night,” the man from before spoke up again from somewhere behind him, presumably the one wielding whatever sharp object had been used to cut him. They’d used knives and the tip of a sword before, so he couldn’t be certain what, in particular, was being used this time. “What a shame. Someone should still enjoy him, after all, shouldn’t they?”

The chorus of cheers made his skin crawl as he jerked in place, only for his head to be shoved back down, hard enough to make his vision blacken around the edges for a moment. “He deserves exactly what his kind gave to our mothers, our wives, and our daughters!”

He grit his teeth at that, giving a low snarl of a response. “Like you bastards did to my sister?”

A kick to his stomach winded him and was nearly enough to cause him to throw up as the man responded: “No one asked for your input, bitch.”

“If… you think I’m… just going to let you-”

The second kick managed to accomplish what the first didn’t, though he had little more than stomach acids to throw up and the burn of it barely registered through the pain in his stomach and ribs.

“You’re going to shut up and do as you’re told. Now, up,” the man instructed, yanking him up by the throat and leaving Stephen to realize there was some sort of collar there, cold and rough metal that the man was using to jerk him around.

He struggled to straighten and stay on his feet, but multiple faces watched him with ill-concealed contempt. If they were aroused at all by his state, it wasn’t sexual arousal, it was hatred and anger that fueled them - their lusts were a lot more dangerous, and Stephen knew it. They’d already toyed with him plenty, but that seemed insufficient.

Taking a deep breath to try and steady himself, Stephen took a quick look around in search of any way out of what looked - for all intents and purposes, like an abandoned greenhouse. 

There was a door off to one side and he knew if he could get there fast enough he could run - his arms weren’t tied, his ankles weren’t tied, nothing held him down. He just needed to get the man holding the collar to let go.

His head was yanked back as much by his hair as anything, and Stephen dug as deep inside of himself as he could to try and grasp at something he hadn’t felt in almost half a year. 

_ Magic. _

It wasn’t easy, but he felt the bloom of it in his fingers and took what little he could, shoving the trickle of aetherial flame into his captor’s face and twisting away to sprint for the only visible exit while the man screamed in pain. 

Broken glass and gravel tore at his bare feet, but he didn’t have time to think about that as he reached the door, only to be slammed back and down onto his back by the man who’d apparently been manning the door.

“Did you think getting out would be that easy? Still casting spells are you? I suppose we’ll have to do something about that.”

* * *

There was a cacophony of screams followed by a bombshell explosion as the sound of demolition rang through the hollow building.

The glass shattered as two mechanical suits of armour tore the grounds apart like some flimsy foam diorama.

Gunfire rang through, the unfamiliar sounds of energy blasts as two suits of mechanized armor bulldozed their way through droves of skirmishers until they reached the open glass hall.

Tony frantically looked around, trying to spot his husband, going through anyone in his path. He searched the smoke and wreckage and only spotted him once he’d cleared a plume of smoke.

His heart nearly stopped when he did.

Stephen was a mangled bloody mess, huddled in a ball against the wall and the suspected leader turned, knife in hand, completely taken off guard.

"Don't touch my stuff." The emperor hissed and lifted the hand of his suit and let loose a fury of blue light towards him, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him back.

The rest of his men came at Tony and Rhodes, following up with swords and arrows drawn, neither of which were any more effective than the last. 

Steel bounced off his suit and arrows shattered under fire, the two men meeting them with iron fists and projectiles.

As Tony raised his hand once more to fire at the leader, the cowering man held his own up and cried out.

"WAIT!" Tony stopped in his tracks. "We were just being paid-" The emperor shot the man in the chest and picked him up by the collar of the shirt.

"By who-"

"A man working within the Imperial Court of the Emperor." Tony's eyes narrowed behind the visor of his helmet.

The emperor threw the man across the room and his body ragdolled on the ground. He then turned to Stephen immediately as Rhodey took care of any others that tried after them again.

Tony's throat went dry when he noticed the state Stephen was in, even more so when he saw what they'd done to his hands.

Stephen was on the ground in the corner, bloodied and dressed in some whorish outfit, chained to the wall in a collar, covered head to toe in cuts and lacerations. Had they not been in the situation they were in, Tony might have thought the outfit looked strikingly cute, but this was no time.

He removed the collar and irons from Stephen and the man crumpled in on himself, weakly clutching his hands to his chest. They were mangled and horribly disfigured. Rows of slash marks over his knuckles, bent and twisted in ways the human hand simply shouldn't be.

He nearly went white as a ghost as it registered further, the colour draining from his face at the condition he'd found him in.

What had they done to him? What had they done to his hands?!

_ His poor Stephen. _

"What did they do to you..." There was only a groan in response.

Tony was kneeling at the magus' side before he'd even registered his own quick movements, coming to place his cloak over Stephen to give him some decency as he collected him in the arms of the suit without a second wasted. He lightly held him for a moment, visor up and face tucked into his hair as he closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry Stephen..."

There was some protest from the magus as he did, but nothing more than a weakened attempt to get away as the traumatized man resisted, not recognizing him.

"It's okay, it's me Stephen." He mumbled quietly and somehow that settled him. He turned to Rhodes, nodded, and they left, rushing back to the palace through the suits aerial capabilities.

Stephen was rushed to the infirmary the moment they touched down. 

The entire medical staff of the palace was rallied to the hospice ward quicker than ever, Tony having barged in, full armour with his immediate demands that Stephen be operated on right away.

He wanted to stay by Stephen's side as they put him under, but was hurried out by Christine, doors shut in his face.

Rhodes stuck by him as long as he could, keeping him company outside the infirmary before even he couldn't keep himself awake and had to head to retire for sleep.

It was days as the best surgeons were summoned from around the province to work on Stephen's hands, though due to the extensive damage they regretfully assured Tony he would never fully recover and that only drove the feeling of guilt deeper into his heart.

Days of Tony beating himself up over Stephen's condition. Near a week before he could see him again as the doctors kept him in the critical care ward and monitored him night and day.

And through all of this, all he could think of at that time was how it was his fault. Had he not forced Stephen to wear the irons, he would have been able to protect himself, and they probably wouldn't have even had their argument in the first place.

He could have protected him. 

Could have made sure he was  _ safe. _

All this pettiness sprung from his stubbornness, marrying another man at a whim in spite of his father's commands.

Stephen was eventually relocated to his own chambers after he was stabilized and Tony was finally allowed to visit.

When he walked in and saw how frail he was, his unconscious form laid out on the bed, hands suspended aloft to keep his heavily bandaged fingers in a safe position to recover.

His irons had not been reinstated - nor would they be - and Tony felt his knees give out as he walked to the side of the magus' bed and collapsed on the floor beside the mattress, face buried into the sheets at his side.

"God Stephen, I'm so fucking sorry..." He grabbed the sheets in a balled fist and cried.

He just cried.

Everytime he thought he’d overcome his fit, his thoughts cycled right back around again and it all came back to him in a flood, working him right up again, spiralling.

He stayed like that for hours until Jarvis brought him a cloth and basin of warm water to wipe his face.

Tony was moved from his spot as nurses routinely checked on him and had migrated to the bedside chair, similarly, May and Pepper coming in with a meal as Tony's state had deteriorated in his own guilt-ridden frenzy.

He was so utterly spent, so tired and exhausted, but he wanted to be there for when Stephen finally woke from the anesthesia which he'd been regularly administered to deal with the pain during his recovery.

“Tony, you need to sleep,” Pepper’s voice encouraged quietly as she touched his shoulder, startling him out of a half-conscious state.

“I don’t want him to be alone when he wakes up,” Tony responded groggily. “I need to talk to him, apologize to him…”

“You’re falling asleep in place. At least consider moving to the couch so you can lay down properly?” she suggested, and Tony groaned a little at that, sitting up and looking over towards the small couch across from the bed. “I’ll even fetch you some blankets. Or tuck you in with the cloak, I’m sure Stephen has enough blankets-”

“No! No, it’s fine. Just blankets are fine. Let him… he seems to really like that cloak…” Tony insisted, sitting up and stretching a bit to try and get the crick out of his back. 

Looking down at the sleeping man he found that the cloak seemed wrapped in snug around him and wondered if someone had tucked him in with it. Brushing at the man’s hair lightly, his thumb ran over the bruises that seemed to stand out starkly against the magus’ pale skin. He avoided the areas that were still clearly swollen or raw.

By the looks of him it was lucky that he hadn’t wound up with a broken nose for the battery to his face, but that didn’t spare the rest of him - though there was a clear concentration of damage to Stephen’s hands. Tony couldn’t quite keep himself from feeling a queasy discomfort when he looked at them, so he avoided that as he pressed a quiet kiss to Stephen’s forehead before moving to the couch to sleep.

He didn’t wake up when Pepper presumably brought a blanket and pillow. He didn’t wake until the sun began to filter light into the room in beautiful arrays, and the sounds of quiet crying reached his ears.

He sat up in confusion, attempting to get his bearings, before realizing where he was. It didn’t take long to recognize where the sobs were coming from as Tony pulled himself to his feet and shuffled over to the bed, sitting beside Stephen and almost missing the way the cloak brushed at Stephen’s cheeks.

Tony hesitated but didn’t comment on it as he settled beside the bed and offered Stephen a forced smile. “Does it hurt? I mean, of course it hurts, but… should I call the nurses? Or can I get you some water or anything?”

Stephen seemed to clam up almost immediately as he noticed Tony, his eyes squeezing shut as his head turned away, and Tony’s chest felt as though it was suddenly several sizes too small for his lungs.

“I’m sorry. I can’t… I can’t do more than that. All I can offer is whatever help I can… doctors and nurses… pillows, comfort…” Tony chewed on the inside of his lip as he watched the man. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. I’m sorry… that you couldn’t protect yourself because of me.”

The magus kept quiet in response to Tony's admission, staring straight up at the ceiling. He seemed to act indifferent to Tony's words though the slight tilt of his head away was nothing more than an indicator that he wanted to be left alone.

The silence was unsettling, and Tony was hoping that he'd get even an iota of a response from him, but no.

Tony sat up straight looking at Stephen, he let go of the sheets and rested back in his chair, keeping his eyes trained on him.

He watched as the lump in Stephen's throat bobbed as his neck strained a bit, almost wondering if the man was going to say anything. There was then a stretch of silence for some time, moments that ticked away and grated more and more on Tony's nerves as the magus almost seemed to remain as still as he possibly could.

"Stephen?" Tony tried again, and he reached out for his shoulder and felt his muscles tense under the light touch.

The sorcerer opened his mouth, taking in a deep breath, finally responding, clearly struggling to get the words out.

"Please… leave me be..." came the cold response with nothing more than a slow side glance, and Tony felt his insides go cold.

The emperor didn't know what to do, but what Stephen had been through earned him the right to make such demands, and Tony to likewise honour them.

"I'll send the nurses in to check on you..." Tony gave him one last long look while Stephen didn't even so much as glance at him, mouth open to let out a long shaky exhale before he left the magus' quarters.

* * *

Weeks passed, and Tony spent more time than he cared to admit outside of Stephen’s door, checking with Jarvis about whether Stephen wanted to see him or not and asking the nurses how he was doing. It hurt him to not be there for Stephen - for his husband - the way he believed he ought to be.

There were a lot of things he wanted out of a marriage. He’d never quite managed to convince himself that he’d be able to marry for love, but he’d still hoped he could have a loving marriage or at least one that was built on mutual respect. 

Now he wasn’t sure what he had. 

His husband didn’t want to see him, his father was dying, his empire was in disarray and trials were being prepared for the men who had kidnapped and assaulted his consort. He didn’t even know how best to handle that. Would Stephen want to be there to say his piece? Would he rather never see them again?

When he was finally allowed to see Stephen, the man was at least conscious and sitting upright. He stared out the window quietly with Tony’s cloak draped over his shoulders and covering his hands. It was hard to say if Stephen was doing better or not as he couldn’t see him very clearly, but he took up a seat near Stephen while still giving him plenty of space, uncertain of how welcome he was.

“... hey,” he offered quietly, worried about breaking the silent spell between them.

“What do you want with me?” Stephen inquired without looking at him. Tony sat back in his seat, confused and trying to make sense of the statement.

“What? I just want to make sure you’re okay - as okay as you can be-”

“I’m not okay.” The response was sharp, and Tony’s mouth snapped shut as he tried to figure out how best to respond to the words. “My hands aren’t going to recover much more than they have. Your people aren’t going to accept me, irons or no, marriage or no, I’m always going to be their enemy…”

“Stephen…” he hesitated slightly before reaching out to touch his arm, watching Stephen flinch away from the touch immediately. “... I’m sorry. I don’t know... how to fix this.”

“You can’t. There’s no fixing this. This is just… my life now, I suppose.” Stephen took a breath before looking at him finally. “... why didn’t you just leave me there? They would’ve killed me. You would’ve upheld your end of things… You could’ve married someone you  _ cared _ about-”

“I care about you, you idiot,” Tony frowned deeply at that. “What kind of talk is that? You honestly think I would’ve just let you die?” He took a deep breath of his own, running a hand into his hair as he tried to collect himself, stopping himself from going into a frenzy of his own. He definitely didn’t like any part of what Stephen said, but he knew he had to be patient. Of course Stephen was emotional after what he’d been through. 

“It would’ve been convenient,” Stephen responded simply, “for everyone involved.”

“Yeah, because you lighting a guy’s face on fire and fighting to break free looked like you wanted to die,” Tony hissed out through his teeth, closing his eyes before getting to his feet and wrapping his arms carefully around Stephen, ignoring the brief moment of tension he felt in the man’s body as he did. 

“I fucking care about you, okay? I don’t know how else to make it clear that you matter to me - I’m sorry I’ve fucked this up so far somehow, but I want you in my life. I chose you because you were willing to talk back to me. I thought that would carry through the rest of our relationship. I thought it meant we’d have a relationship where you weren’t afraid to tell me if I screwed up, so I could do better - so I could  _ be a better man. _ Because that’s what I want! I want to be a good man, a good  _ husband _ to you…”

Stephen’s body slowly relaxed in his hold, and it startled Tony out of his rambling when he felt Stephen shift to wrap his arms around his waist in return, leaving him to choke on the lump in his throat. “If you want to leave… if you want to go back to Vishan… you can go. If that will make you happy.

"I tracked you into no-mans-land, Rhodey and I both to retrieve you, hired the best surgeons in the land to work on you and do what they could, stood by you through all of it." Tony started, seeing Stephen ready to retort. "I didn't do this because I wanted you gone, that would have been the easy way out." Stephen closed his mouth as Tony continued.

"I've taken the easy way out my entire life, and for once I want to fight for something, to fight for you. You can deny the facts, Stephen, I care and I'm sorry if that hurts you. If I wanted to just get rid of you for convenience's sake I would have left you there." 

The magus stayed quiet, eyes still averted to the emperor. "You don't have to forgive me, yeah I know I fucked up - I tend to do that a lot. But this is the reality of it." Tony sighed.

"If you want to leave, if you'd rather not be here anymore, we can annul the wedding, and you can be free - go back to your people, go back to your land." Tony's voice grew quiet, resigned. "You no longer need to live in irons anymore."

He did care for Stephen, and the last thing he wanted was to see the man go. Most of his feelings were bound by guilt and a drive to make amends with the man for everything he'd done.

Stephen's presence had greatly impacted him, and it wasn't just as easy as cutting the man out of his life with how their entities had adapted and intertwined.

“It’s fine,” Stephen finally spoke up when Tony had been quiet long enough to show he wasn’t continuing. “I’ll stay.”

That was all the man apparently had to say on the matter, releasing Tony’s waist and turning away again.

“... are you mad at me?” Tony asked softly after a moment, hesitating in his spot and not certain if he was welcome to reach out to the man again.

“No,” Stephen responded simply.

“... what… can I do for you now? How can I help?” he inquired softly.

“I don’t know,” the magus sighed, allowing the cloak to curl around him in a hug. He still wasn’t entirely sure what was up with the cloak’s movements, but he was fairly certain this wasn’t the time to ask.

“Would you like some company? Or would you prefer I leave?”

“... I don’t know,” Stephen answered, quieter still. Tony bit at his lip for a moment in thought before finally moving in closer and sitting beside him, wrapping his arms around Stephen and letting the man rest against him.

He didn’t say a word as the man cried quietly. He didn’t mention it. He stared out the window, simply holding him and stroking his hair, doing his best to be understanding of Stephen’s situation.

He couldn’t imagine what Stephen had been through - he didn’t know the extent of it. He’d heard a little bit, seen a little bit, but he couldn’t wholly fathom the number of possibilities, nor did he know if asking was appropriate. 

So he offered a quiet shoulder to lay against - a shoulder to cry against - and when inevitably the man cried himself to sleep, Tony didn’t move a muscle beyond continuing to support him being in a comfortable position.

He kept a quiet eye on the magus through the night, woken and at attention when Stephen moved in his sleep.

He thought at one point he felt the cloak move on its own and that even stemmed further into wondering why Stephen still had his cloak overall. Was he attached to the piece of clothing so much? Especially considering he'd managed to get it over his shoulders even after the surgery and that part was the most bizarre.

Tony eventually fell back asleep, and with morning dawning Tony had stayed the night with Stephen, finding the cloak draped over the both of them with the sunrise.

He'd slept in his clothes above the covers, and the first knock of Jarvis entering with both coffee and tea was what roused him to full wakefulness.

"Shall I prepare the usual?" Jarvis asked as he set the tea stand down on the table with some starter sides and Tony waved his hand, keeping his voice low as Stephen hadn't woken yet.

"Keep it small and light, thank you."

"Of course sir, I'll make the nurses aware that you will call when you are ready for them to see the master." The servant left quietly and with the deep echo of the door closing, Stephen started to rouse, shifting next to him.

He was nestled into Tony's side, the emperor's arm still around his waist (which he was pretty sure had gone numb as he couldn't feel it).

"How are you feeling...?" Tony mumbled quietly, Stephen still apparently registering where he was and what was going on.

Rather than answering, the magus simply buried his face further in against Tony, mumbling something rather inaudible. Tony smiled slightly at that, hugging him closer and running a hand into his hair. “This is very cute and all, but doesn’t answer my question.”

“Can I just… sleep for the next century?” Stephen said a bit louder into Tony’s chest.

“We call that a coma, and that’s a cause for concern,” Tony responded, petting his hair. “But you can sleep for a couple more hours if you really want to…”

It was the first time he’d ever had the pleasure of waking up in bed with Stephen, though he wasn’t sure when either of them had gotten to bed, or who had moved them. Instead, he found himself indulging in what he knew weren’t the romantic cuddles he might have hoped for. 

“We should get your painkillers into you at least, I can’t imagine your hands are feeling very good,” he offered quietly.

“... they hurt a lot,” Stephen admitted after a moment, before rolling over, off Tony’s arm and onto his back to cradle his hands against his chest.

The cloak moved to wrap around them.

“... okay so. What was that?”

“Hm?”

“The cloak… it moved?”

“So you’ve been wearing a magical relic this entire time… and didn’t even know?” Stephen gave him a strange look at that, and Tony simply stared back at him.

“A… what now?” The corner of the cloak lifted to wave at him, and Tony sat up quickly and with a start. “... what the… wait if it’s magic, why didn’t it react before?”

“There was no magic around it for it to interact with. When you put it on me before it reacted as much as it could to the minimal amount of magic that remained accessible to me, courtesy of the irons.” Stephen’s hand gently brushed the fabric and he gave it a fond look. “Without the irons… it’s going to be much more reactive around me because it can respond to my aura.”

Tony was still a little unnerved but crept back after he'd relaxed a bit, carefully inspecting it and grabbing the fabric by the edge to look at it.

The cloak, in turn, grabbed his hand and he immediately jerked back skittishly.

"This was a family heirloom, passed down… and you mean to tell me this thing," Tony made a strange face before continuing, clearly at a loss, "I've been wearing that the entire time?!" His heart seemed to speed up again but he managed to calm himself down.

It was almost as if Stephen cracked him a smile at his naivety, letting the red cloak coddle him in return.

"That would appear to be the case, in an empire with no magic it was probably nothing but a dormant piece of outer-wear," Stephen explained. "I can assure you it's harmless though, you've taken good care of it."

"I'd hope so," Tony kept watching over it before he sighed, deeming it safe to look away from it to start pouring Stephen his tea. 

He fixed himself his own cup of coffee and set it down at the table, Jarvis coming in with a comparatively smaller meal for the both of them of light breakfast foods. "And it better make sure it stays motionless around the palace - I mean that for it’s safety if this thing is really sentient."

Tony walked over to the side of Stephen's bed, reaching for his arm to help him out. The magus waved a hand and shook his head, the cloak squeezing his shoulders and lifting him to his feet, supporting most of his weight.

Tony made a face, but at this point just attempted to accept it.

"Shit-" Tony turned around to look at Jarvis.

"I'm well aware already sire, in fact, the cloak aided me in a few tasks when Master Strange was in his most critical moments of recovery."

Tony let out a deep breath. "Well, send for the nurses in about thirty."

"Will do sir."

Tony turned back to Stephen. "And here I thought you just really appreciated that cloak as a gift..."

“I do,” Stephen responded, holding the cloak a little closer. “For a lot of reasons I do, but… this is the most magic I’ve been allowed to be around in months. It’s one thing to be allowed outside… but to have this… some reminder of home…”

The magus trailed off, hesitating for a moment and looking down. “Sorry, I don’t… know how to explain it to someone who hasn’t experienced magic in any positive way. Being around the cloak is like… feeling my heart beating again. It’s like feeling air in my lungs again.”

“Will you tell me more about what it’s like?” Tony inquired softly as he helped Stephen lift the teacup, watching the man’s determined but pained expression as he attempted to grasp the small ceramic cup.

Stephen took a sip and Tony hoped that the painkillers mixed in with his tea would be sufficient to help with the pain, even a little bit. Once he was finished, Tony set the teacup aside and Stephen stared sternly at the food in his lap, waving Tony off when he started to reach to try and help.

“... I don’t know how to explain it,” Stephen reiterated as he stared at his food, and Tony began to eat his own breakfast, waiting for any sign that Stephen might want his help. “You use… pipes and pressure to push water through places. We use magic for that. Vishani and Vishanti both-”

“... I’m not sure I follow.”

“We summon water from-”

“Not that part - I get that part. I’ve seen some summoning before. I meant… the Vishani and Vishanti…?”

Stephen looked up from his meal to give Tony a curious look for a moment, before tilting his head.

“Vishani are those among the citizens of Vishan who cannot use magic. Magic is… well. Let’s put it this way: there are many people who grow up in magical households - their parents can use magic, and they’ve grown up with magic all their lives. To them, magic seems to be innate. Yet even among them, there are those who are unable to use magic. It’s recessive, but it’s still a thing.

“I grew up in the opposite manner - my family were all Vishani, non-magic users, though whether that was because they couldn’t use magic or because they never chose to learn, I can’t say for sure. I was fifteen years old when I first used magic… after that, I went to school for it. I learned. I studied and I practiced, and I put everything I could into it.”

“During the war?”

“ _ Because of _ the war,” Stephen looked up suddenly. “Because my family was taken from me by strangers, with blood and force. Because I couldn’t protect my sister. I couldn’t protect anyone. And so I made it my goal to protect as many people as possible.”

Tony remained silent during Stephen's explanation, looking down at his cup of coffee with a degree of shame.

Sure, the war wasn't his fault... he was doing everything in his power to end it - that's what the entirety of this escapade was all about. And though he was a part of the slow-going solution, he was to some degree just as much part of the problem.

The cloak fluttered a bit, attentive to their conversation. Tony was very much aware now that there were three of them and while on the subject of gifts he quickly stood up, earning a curious look from Stephen as he grabbed a box.

He set the box on the table and took a seat next to Stephen, opening the lid on the small box. 

Inside, a velvet setting with a set of identical bracers much like the irons Stephen had worn earlier.

Stephen immediately flinched and Tony raised a hand.

"I know what you're thinking, they aren't irons." Tony bit his lip and he could see Stephen visibly relax a bit. 

"You still can't walk around without looking like you don't have them on. As far as things go, you still need to appear the part until things are safe again." Tony picked up the bracer and rotated it. "It snaps on, but it doesn't need a lock or key to open, and it's more of a focus rather than a magic dampener, to as much as I was able to research on them."

He snapped the latch on the cuffs, and they opened - its hinges carefully masked by the ornate design, and it was lined with soft silk fabric to help with chafing against the skin. "The fabric on the inside is made out of the same material as the cloak, and the metal - also the same as the cloak." Tony indicated to the central broach.

"I did a little research, and while you were recovering I returned to Rowan and purchased some thaumium, the gems are red chimeras eyes disguised as garnets." Tony held the open bracer, waiting for Stephen to lay his wrist in.

He wasn't surprised when the sorcerer seemed a little more reserved about it.

"Trust me… please." 

"The last time you asked me to trust you, those words were a double-edged sword which left me in this state." Stephen gave him a stern expression.

"You can take it off if you don't want them." Tony closed it and opened it to display the lack of locking mechanisms.

Stephen eyed him carefully before setting one wrist into the cuff and Tony carefully closed, holding his breath as Stephen lifted the first cuff and examined it.

“It needs to sit up higher,” Stephen stated quietly, not taking his eyes off the cuff on his wrist. “The weight of it is… uncomfortable against my wrist and the base of my hand. If they’re going to be on for prolonged periods-”

“I can do that,” Tony responded gently. “Do you mind wearing them just for a little longer? Let me know what else might need adjusting, and I’ll make all the changes needed to make them comfortable for you. You can… even try some magic, if you want? So you can see for yourself that there’s no blockage?”

“I don’t need to use magic to know there’s nothing blocking it,” Stephen looked up from the cuff to meet Tony’s gaze, before seeming to shy away from that, returning his gaze to the cuff. “Magic courses through every part of me. I know when it’s being stifled, and when it isn’t, no differently than you know when you’re breathing and when you’re not.”

“Being fair, I sometimes forget to breathe when I’m focusing on things,” the emperor offered a slight smile at that and received a weak chuckle in return.

“That sounds like a problem you should fix.”

“Well, I’ll work on that after we get you fed and figure out if there are any other adjustments the cuffs need…”


	6. Chapter 6

Stephen's recovery was speeding along, and it may or may not have been because the sorcerer was now able to take care of most of his own treatments with the help of magic.

Luckily, after quite a few adjustments and a couple of long but heartfelt talks, Stephen had donned the bracers Tony had made him. Tony had taken extra measures to adjust their size and fit, adding and removing parts to make them comfortable for Stephen to wear given the state of his hands.

Despite his injuries, the magus almost seemed invigorated at times and Tony quite often found himself spending meals with Stephen between meetings.

There were a few private meetings held that Stephen had attended with Rhodes and Pepper with representatives of Vishan - representatives Stephen felt safe addressing without the worry of starting something between the nations as their relations, despite everything, were tenuous at best. 

Stephen had testified his circumstance in great detail, and they would wait on his words before any further steps were taken.

His father's condition had only worsened and he was starting to wear himself thin with visits, stressing over Stephen's safety and generally dealing with Obadiah and everything else on his plate.

It was odd how things had suddenly turned around, almost full circle even. With guards stationed less for Tony's protection and more for Stephen's outside his balcony on the lawn and front door. He still needed escorts around the palace but now it made sense, at least until he deemed it was safe enough for him and all the tension in the air died down.

Fourteen men were in the dungeons in preparation for their upcoming trial, and Tony sat in his office listening as the Imperial Advisor discussed the issues with the trial. There was a lot more going on than he wanted to think about, but Obadiah always made things considerably more difficult than they needed to be with these kinds of things.

“-for all these people know he’s feeding secrets back to Vishan! And now you have him sitting around having meetings with these people. Have you forgotten that the Vishani are our enemies? You have to be careful, Tony, because that’s the impression you’re going to start giving people by persecuting our own in defence of a magus!”

“That magus happens to be my husband and consort,” Tony stated firmly as he watched Obadiah worry a line into the rug in front of his desk with his pacing. “A member of my imperial family was kidnapped and assaulted, and left permanently harmed by the actions of this group of extremists. You can’t ask me not to take action.”

“You already did take action! And it could have gotten you killed, but at least it would’ve stayed under the table! Dragging all of this out into the public eye is not going to have the effect you think it will. People are already talking about the fact that he used magic with his irons on. If he can do that, how is anyone supposed to be certain that he’s not manipulating your mind through magic?”

“Obie…” Tony’s tone was a warning one, and the man simply turned to rest his hands on Tony’s desk, staring sternly at him.

“He should be in the dungeon, not just in irons wandering around under guard like he’s some-”

“The only reason  _ my husband _ would end up in a dungeon is for his and my mutual pleasure, Obadiah. Not because you can’t seem to move beyond the concept that we’re at war - a thing that we are most assuredly not any longer, which was the whole point of my marrying him to begin with.”

He could see the way the blood pulsed in the entirely too obvious veins bulging across the man’s bald head, but his expression remained fixed and serious.

“Your people aren’t going to like this, Tony. Why do you think they took action to begin with?”

“Extremists are not my people. If they cannot follow my law, they are not my people. And I intend to make that very clear. If you have nothing else to add, I have trials to prepare for and paperwork to finish.”

The trial proceeded and Stephen was forced to sit in the stand with Tony and some of the best court lawyers. Though, given that the empire's judicial system ran on a partially juried system, there was an even split between those who clearly supported the Emperor and his choices, those with a clear bias against the Vishani as a whole, and then those caught in the middle - the good few who kept an open mind and opinion after hearing the testimony and pleas of the courtroom.

The men - those who weren't completely incapacitated by Tony's response to recovering Stephen - were prosecuted, however, the verdict was a little closer than Tony was comfortable with.

Despite Obie's clear bias, he'd been right. Many weren't in support of Stephen, and the Empire's choice for the treatise. It was as if they'd taken one step forward and then two steps back again and the only reason things hadn't deteriorated more was because Tony still held a degree of authoritarian rule over the people of his court.

Many were upset at the idea of a Vishanti casting on royal grounds, still too blind to see that Stephen was in fact royalty himself.

Captain Coulson had attended, as had Rhodey and all of his trusted advisors, even Jarvis testified to Stephen’s character and despite the trial coming to an end with the men who'd initially seized Stephen - they'd not said a single word to the court about the aforementioned advisor, despite Tony having full confidence that Obadiah had been behind all of this.

They'd been paid to keep their mouths shut, or possibly threatened, regardless they wouldn't speak.

An investigation was mounted after the trial and Fury was at its helm with people Tony knew he could trust, loyal friends to his father.

With all of this, combined with his father's inevitable, encroaching death, it was starting to bear down on Tony with more weight than ever before.

Tony took a breather, slipping away when he saw Stephen safely escorted to his rooms, telling him he'd return. He knew Stephen wouldn't be taking this as easily, reliving and revisiting the trauma, and he'd be there for him after he managed to pick himself back up.

It was hard to be strong for someone else when you couldn't be strong for yourself. 

Pepper noticed as he slipped away, and he was surprised when he heard her quietly enter the room behind him as if knowing full well what was on his mind.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, Tony." Pepper came over to him. He'd pulled away to get a breath of fresh air, sequestering himself away in one of the empty conference halls.

"It's only going to get worse before it gets better," he mumbled, running a hand through his hair and Pepper gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"It's going to take time. The restructuring of an entire Empire, the integration of things people aren't used to. People hate change." She took a seat and tugged him over to one of the table-side chairs, pouring him a glass of water that he gladly took, having been much more thirsty than he'd expected.

“I’m worried about how it’s going to affect Stephen,” Tony sighed quietly after setting his water down. “He didn’t look good during the trial and I already feel like shit putting him through that. I’m not sure I want to tell him how close the jurors were on the case.”

“So don’t,” Pepper shook her head. “In the end, you have the power to veto a decision.”

“I can’t veto the way they’re treating him. He’s already not doing well,” Tony reiterated, “and I don’t know how to protect him from the brunt of this…”

“You’re already doing what you can. We could isolate him in his quarters-”

“No. I don’t want to take any more of his freedom away from him. I already feel bad about the guards,” Tony shook his head. “I need to make a lot up to him, locking him away like something I’m ashamed of isn’t the way to do that.”

“You also can’t make it up to him if someone kills him,” Pepper pointed out, “and from what James was saying, the people who took him were under orders from someone in the palace-”

“Obie.”

“That’s… a big accusation to make without proof, Tony,” the woman responded, though the expression on her face told him she wasn’t disagreeing with him.

“Why do you think I haven’t taken action yet? I need concrete evidence.”

“You might want to be careful what you wish for there. Stephen wandering around freely may wind up being the bait-”

“No,” Tony looked at Pepper, reaching to curl a hand around hers. “Obie will be in for a shock if he tries to mess with Stephen. Beyond the guards…”

“You… haven’t told him about the cuffs?”

“Of course not. You, Jarvis, Rhodey and Christine are the only ones who know. Only the people who need to know. He's not some exotic animal I'm keeping locked up in a room for my viewing pleasure, he's here as an envoy, an heir, to make a change to everything we're doing wrong with the empire - what I'm doing wrong." Tony sighed. "None of the other consorts would have had it any easier."

"Obadiah has me working like a dog with a bunch of paperwork, I may be able to look around but I'm not going to look too deep into it," Pepper spoke softly and Tony gently nodded.

"Keep yourself safe Pep, I've had Rhodey keeping a close eye anything irregular with the guard units. I have a feeling that we don't have as many people against us as we seem to think, just a few vocal minorities. For all we know, that jury and courtroom could have been loaded." Tony finally stood up, finishing off his water. "I really should check on Stephen, thanks again Pep."

"Of course. I'll see you later Tony, try not to let this weigh on you too much..." The redhead looked worried.

"I think it's a little too late for that, nothing I can't recover from though." He flashed her a smile and left, making his way towards Stephen's room.

Jarvis joined him as soon as he'd left the conference room, and once Tony had reached Stephen's quarters he'd dismissed most of the guards, leaving Coulson to stay out front.

"Jarvis, please feel free to keep Coulson company." 

"As you wish sire." The captain saluted him and Tony nodded, giving the door a couple of gentle knocks before he entered.

"Stephen?" He didn't exactly wait for a response, knowing the man would be in there given that the guards wouldn't have been there if he wasn't inside.

There was however no response, despite the man being there sitting on one of the chairs seeming a little sunken into his chair.

He crept closer, wondering if the magi was asleep at first, only to find him staring forlornly at the fireplace. Tony bit his lip as he settled in beside Stephen, hesitantly reaching out to rest his hand on Stephen’s. The magus glanced down at his hand briefly, before returning his gaze to the fireplace.

“You don’t have to be here if you have other places to be,” he stated before Tony could speak up. His voice was devoid of much intonation, leaving Tony at a loss.

He didn’t know if he’d done something wrong, or if Stephen just needed some space after everything that happened. 

“I don’t have anywhere else I need to, or would rather be right now,” he assured Stephen gently, curling his fingers around Stephen’s hand without squeezing.

Stephen inclined his head in response to that, not turning to face Tony properly. Tony took a deep breath as he waited for Stephen to respond, before finally speaking up again. “Did you want to be alone?”

“I don’t know,” the magus responded. He looked down to Tony’s hand again for a moment, before finally turning his hand over carefully, weakly curling his fingers around Tony’s hand. “I don’t think so.”

“Do you want to talk about anything?”

“No,” Stephen responded quickly to that. “I don’t.”

He shouldn’t have expected differently. The trial had been rough, and he could only imagine how much harder it must’ve been for Stephen, but he could hardly presume to know or understand what Stephen was going through.

“Want me to read something? Or we can talk about… whatever you like. Or if you want to just sit quietly for a bit…?”

“I don’t want to think too hard about anything right now. I already feel like I’m stuck in my room, and I’m desperately trying not to get stuck in my head, too.”

Tony stayed by him quietly, he didn't say much but was left to his thoughts finding the more time he spent with Stephen both brought them closer together while an unknowable rift was starting to tear them apart - something he hated having no control over.

The magus was a delicate flower, and each time he was dragged into the political disputes of the Empire, a petal was plucked from the stem, leaving him to shrivel up and wilt. It was painful to think of it that way, Tony's responsibilities were just as much becoming Stephen's obstacles no matter how much he laboured to keep it all separate.

He sat there in silence with Stephen, the magus’ delicately shaking hand within his own. It was a marvel how fond he'd grown of Stephen, and he wasn't sure if it was out of a duty to protect him, his general attractiveness or because Stephen was someone he felt he needed to protect out of duty.

Possibly even a conglomerate of all of those things.

A noise drew him from his thoughts, something he at first dismissed until a few minutes later there was a knock at Stephen's door and Jarvis peeked inside.

"Pardon the interruptions sir, but General Rhodes is here, he needs you immediately."

"Can this wait?" Tony sighed, a little frustrated as he turned to Jarvis.

"Unfortunately no sir, it's a matter of utmost importance."

"Very well." Tony flashed Stephen an apologetic look before getting to his feet, placing a quick kiss on the man's knuckles and shrinking away with a gentle squeeze of his shoulder.

It was painful, Stephen needed him now the most and he wasn't able to stay with him.

He left the room and closed the door, waiting for this urgent news Rhodes had disturbed him with.

"Protestors at the front door, they've been harassing the guards - you need to do something about it."

“Alright. How many people do we have off-duty that we can call in?”

* * *

It wasn’t quiet.

He could hear people yelling outside, nothing that he could make sense of, but it didn’t make a lot of difference to him. He hadn’t been leaving his suites much, and it wasn’t as though he was ‘permitted’ outside anyway.

The greenhouse was no longer a safe space for him, and the library felt too crowded. Plus, the weight of books in his hands hurt and it wasn’t as though he could supplement that with allowing the cloak to hold the books for him. Not in public.

So his rooms were the safest place.

Stephen sat in a large clawfoot tub, the most inconsequential of spells being used to keep it warm for a prolonged period. Washing himself was a thing he’d been struggling with for a while, but he wasn’t certain he wanted Jarvis’s help with it - he’d had enough of the nurses fussing. Still, the wounds on his back were barely healed and moving to try and wash himself pulled at the tense, healing skin uncomfortably. 

The cloak proved to be a blessing where getting clean was concerned. It was gentle and careful, though it still made sure to slough off the layers of dead skin that clung to him, leaving him feeling clean in a way he hadn’t in a while, all without causing him to bleed again.

It had been three days since Tony last came by, and Stephen hated how much he missed the man. He’d put too much hope in Tony during the earlier stages of his recovery, and part of him knew it wasn’t healthy, but he’d gotten ideas in his head of things somehow returning to some semblance of normalcy after. At least, whatever his new normal was.

As he emptied the water from his bath he cast a brief look over at the mirror, chewing his lip as he recognized there was a certain amount of damage that was permanent. His hands were bad enough, he knew there was nothing to be done about them. Whatever the doctors had done to them, his magic couldn’t do much more to help anymore. They were going to be like this no matter what.

But there was a lot more to it than that. His fingers traced over the lines over his sides and stomach where the whip had snapped around him. While he knew the damage to his front was minimal enough that if he was on his back Tony might not notice the unsightly scarring, the same couldn’t be said for his back, which, while healing, was a mess of scabbing lines that he knew wouldn’t heal that easily.

The cloak draped over his shoulders to hide his back when he loitered too long at it, and Stephen curled his hands into the fabric to hold it close with a quiet sigh. 

“Thank you, friend,” he murmured softly. “I suppose I shouldn’t linger on it but… I can’t help it. I hate being idle, and I hate being useless and I feel like I’m both of those things right now… and when I think about these marks…” Stephen took a deep breath, trailing off.

“... do you suppose he has concubines?” The cloak didn’t respond, and Stephen sunk himself onto the edge of his bed in his room. “I can’t seem to stop thinking about it. About what I’m doing here, about what good I am being here. In this state, he can’t be seen with me in public… The people are not happy about this wedding… he barely comes to see me, whether that’s because he doesn’t want to, or because he can’t…

“And the little I could offer him, what little physical solace I could give… I can’t be certain he’d want from me anymore, anyway…”

The cloak curled around him tightly, and Stephen simply lay back across the bed, allowing the cloak to act as a blanket and clothing all at once as he stared at the ceiling. “I don’t know how to fix this…”

* * *

There was no way to make everyone happy and it felt as though it was suffocating him.

He’d assumed that the people would be happy to have the war over and to get back to a real life. He’d assumed people would be happy for peace - what was the point of the war if it wasn’t for the sake of peace?

And yet it had been an everyday affair for what felt like weeks. Six am through until nine pm, every day. Brief breaks for breakfast and snacks for lunch, with dinner only just before crawling into bed. He was so mentally exhausted by everything that he often found himself barely able to undress before passing out, only to begin anew the next day.

He was tired, running on fumes, and there were only a few things he really wanted and fewer of those he could actually get. A bath was his first thought - something hot and relaxing, perhaps with bubbles.

His thoughts were derailed as he watched Jarvis exiting Stephen’s chambers, carrying a tray of clearly cold food. He’d known the man long enough to know the concern on his face by the way his brow was crinkled and the distinct set of his jaw. He cast a brief glance at the door to his own suite before trying to determine how long it had been since he’d seen Stephen.

“... Is everything alright, Jarvis?”

“I’m not certain, sir,” the man responded as he looked up, taking one look at Tony and tilting his head in question. “Are  _ you _ alright?”

“I will be. I’m thinking a nice hot bath with my husband might be nice, though,” he responded as he looked at Stephen’s door briefly. “Is he available?”

“I’m… not sure,” Jarvis reiterated, hesitantly. “He hasn’t eaten in two days. There’s incense coming from his room, but no one has interacted with him…”

Tony’s jaw set at that, and he reached to take the food from Jarvis. “Get the door for me? Someone needs to eat. Mind bringing my dinner to his room, too? I’ll see what’s going on…”

"Of course, sir."

Tony crept in with Jarvis through the joint partition in their rooms, the loyal servant setting down the meal on the table. 

Tony noticed Stephen sitting quietly on the floor, not moving to acknowledge their presence and Tony waved Jarvis off quietly before approaching Stephen.

"Hey..." Tony timidly stepped towards Stephen, kneeling down at the magus' side, looking over his calm and serene features. There was no response from the sorcerer as he remained motionless and only the cloak gave a gentle flutter of acknowledgement.

"You there?" He tried again, but repeatedly, there was no response.

He took a seat and gently pressed a hand to Stephen's shoulder, lightly shaking him. The cloak seemed to squeeze Stephen tighter in that instance and it was only moments later before he roused from his deep meditation.

Stephen seemed disoriented at first, and Tony gave him his space as he slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times, before looking towards Tony who had a concerned look on his face.

"I've been talking to you..." Tony mentioned gently and Stephen shook his head.

"My apologies your Imperial Majesty-" Stephen started.

"Enough with the formalities, that's not necessary." Tony interjected, finally removing his hand. There was a coldness radiating from Stephen once again, the same distanced aura he'd felt days ago - the same unknowable void.

"Jarvis said you haven't eaten, I brought dinner." Tony nodded towards the placement and Stephen simply looked at him with an expression mostly devoid of emotion.

The magus looked like he hadn't eaten in days, just as Jarvis had said and any attempts to reach out were with no success.

"You look like shit." Tony said blatantly and Stephen seemed almost out of it. Heavy bags under his eyes, a slight shaking in his body and a slow reaction.

This worried Tony but he wasn't about to bombard Stephen with a bunch of questions, at least not until he got some of his energy back.

There was another long drawn out moment of silence before Tony went to help Stephen up by his arms, the cloak complying and lifting him to his feet as he guided him over to the table.

"I'm sorry I've been so busy… I should have checked on you sooner." Tony started, serving Stephen a portion, the man remained quiet, staring down at his place and it was starting to unnerve him. "I've been tied up in meetings and dealing with political stunts all day." He added, finishing plating Stephen's food before he took care of his own.

"I see," was the only response Tony received from him, and he felt the hackles stand up on the back of his neck from the response. It was rather unsettling.

"Are you doing any better?" He bit his lip and Stephen's shaky hand lightly went to pick up the fork, taking his time in bringing the portions to his mouth. He took a shaky bite then dropped his utensils, letting out a deep breath and laying his hands on the table.

Tony watched as he balled them into fists and unclenched them. He still made no eye-contact.

"Are you only trying to humour me, visiting me like this…?" Stephen started, fingers trembling as if he'd overstressed them.

Tony blinked in confusion, setting his utensils down.

"Stephen..."

"Please, don't pity me. Especially after everything." The magus started and Tony looked down at his meal slightly defeated. He had no right to argue back with any sort of aggression.

"I've been tied up in political disputes-"

"Because of me, and now you're here because you feel guilty, or out of some misplaced sense of obligation to me." The magus responded calmly, though Tony could detect the resentment in his voice.

"Stephen... that's not-"

"Then what is it?" The sorcerer looked at him with glassy eyes and he felt his heart break that moment. Yet another thing he needed to top everything that was going on.

"I'm here for you, I've not gotten a moment to myself and even now."

"You don't need to make excuses for me." Stephen spat, refusing to look at him, though Tony couldn't quite understand why the magus had done a complete 180 now from just the other day.

“If you don’t have time to be here why are you here?”

“I was worried about you, Jarvis said-”

“Didn’t I just tell you not to pity me? I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.”

“Stephen, you haven’t been eating-”

“And what does that have to do with you?” the magus snapped back, and Tony frowned, watching him sternly in response.

“Why don’t you tell me? Because I’m getting the feeling this is somehow my fault.”

“The world doesn’t revolve around you.”

The pair sat in silence after that for a few minutes as Tony tried to determine what the best course of action was. When Jarvis arrived with Tony’s food, he simply shook his head at the man, looking back at Stephen with a couple of deep breaths.

“You’re right. The world doesn’t revolve around me. But whether you like it or not, a lot of my world revolves around you right now, and it’s in both of our best interests to see you as healthy and happy as I can possibly manage. When you’re ready for something like that… we’ll talk.”

He got to his feet after that, guiding Jarvis back out of the room and towards his own, closing the door behind him firmly. Jarvis didn’t say anything as Tony opened the door to his own suite and slipped in, collapsing onto a chair and hanging his head.

He was tired. 

It felt as though he was everyone’s enemy, and the one person he thought would maybe appreciate his presence had apparently returned to wanting nothing to do with him. 

He stared at the food Jarvis set in front of him and tried to fight back the urge to cry. He knew it wasn’t exactly Emperor-ly of him, but he was stressed out, and tired, and exhausted, and emotional and the moment Jarvis wrapped his arms around him, his walls came down.

He clutched at the man tightly, suppressing sobs and shuddering against him as Jarvis brushed at his hair gently, his words lost to the muffled sound of his crying. It felt as though everything he did was wrong. Trying to end the war was wrong. Trying to protect Stephen was wrong. Trying to be happy was wrong.

He knew it wasn’t, but it was impossible to convince his exhausted brain of anything else.


	7. Chapter 7

It was by choice that Tony had decided to leave Stephen alone. He'd made attempts to visit him in his room but almost each instance was met with a cold and unwelcomed shoulder.

Eventually, he stopped seeing Stephen altogether, caught up in so much work, putting out fires within the political system left and right and fighting with the fact that Obadiah had been clearly going out of his way to thwart any sort of investigation attempts...

**And,** if that wasn’t enough, the doctors were predicting that his father may not even see the end of the week.

Tony couldn't handle this, with his husband ignoring him, and everything compiled he was about to break, he wanted to break, but the thing was...

_ He couldn't. _

There was too much riding on him, generations of history weighing on his shoulders, the expectations of his populace, and no matter what he did there was no rest for a political figure such as himself.

It would be so easy to just run away, leave everything behind - take Stephen with him if he wanted to… if he didn't totally hate him.

But it seemed everyone was against him, the world was against him… and Tony sank into the warm water of the tub that Jarvis had prepared for him, his friend - one of the few constants in his life at this moment.

Part of him wanted to just let Stephen go, tell him that ending the war would be on his own part. He was tired of putting the man at risk and he'd been through more than enough at this point. He'd grown quite fond of his husband, and it hurt that he wasn't in any way able to display such affections at this point, especially when they needed each other the most.

He sat back, looking at the ceiling before his eyes slid closed and he sank into the tub, letting his mind rest for just a moment.

The knock that disrupted his silence left him to sigh heavily, wanting to sink further into his bath to drown out the noise, though he knew full well that it could be a matter of utmost importance. These disturbances, especially at times like these, usually were.

“Come in,” he called, deciding he wasn’t getting out of the bath unless he absolutely had to.

He expected Rhodey, or maybe Jarvis or Pepper. 

The quiet shuffling of feet and the timid looking magus that they belonged to were not what he anticipated. He wasn’t altogether certain what to say to the man, simply sighing heavily before sitting up in alarm as the man seemed to collapse to the ground without looking at him.

“Stephen?” He began to get out of the bath quickly before realizing that Stephen had prostrated himself across the floor, rather than having fallen. Sighing again with absolute exhaustion at the idea of more of the man’s erratic antics, Tony ran a hand into his hair. “What are you doing here?”

Stephen seemed to tense at that, before speaking up, his voice echoing on the tiles of the room. “I’m sorry for being an inconvenience,” he began, and Tony sunk back into the bath, resting his head on the edge of it to watch him. He wasn’t sure where the man was going with it, but Stephen continued on soon enough.

“I’ve been ungrateful, drawing on your resources and continuing to cause you problems… you’re going through a lot because of me, and this isn’t what you signed up for. I don’t… have anything to offer you… and the only solution I can think of for this problem is if I am removed from the equation.”

It had come entirely out of the blue, the magus had gone from completely isolating himself and avoiding Tony altogether to… this.

"Stephen... where is this coming from?" The emperor's voice was soft as if any noise would shatter the frail man knelt before him.

"I've been more a burden than a blessing for you and this Empire, it's clear that I have not been offered to you what you envisioned to help this Empire grow." Stephen kept his eyes downcast. "I am damaged, useless… I can do nothing for this Empire, and I'm only an additional weight on your shoulders."

It was a little awkward to have this conversation while nude in his bathroom, as Stephen knelt. He reached for the towel and quickly wrapped it around his waist, standing up and moving over to him.

He knelt down in front of him.

"Stephen, what you offer me is more valuable than anything you think you might be taking me." Tony started, he hesitantly reached out to grab Stephen's arm, tapping it and pulling him up a bit so he was no longer grovelling on the floor like some disciplined knave.

"What could that possibly be?"

"Companionship," Tony stated blatantly. "Support emotionally." He tightened the towel around his waist as he felt it slipping some. "I've always told you that you are free to go, free to return to your people, but you would be missed, and I certainly wouldn't want you to go."

"You don't need to play nice with me..." Stephen added, getting to his knees, but rising no further. 

Tony sighed.

"No, I don't." One side of Tony's mouth quirked up a bit with his brow as if emphasizing his point. "That's my call to make in the end. I don't want you to go… I've grown fond of you in my life, too much to see you walk out of it or give up because we hit a snag in the fabric of our existences."

“But I haven’t offered you companionship. I haven’t been emotionally supportive in the slightest…” Stephen responded to the floor, still not lifting his head despite Tony’s words.

“Then wouldn’t changing those behaviours be more useful than just leaving? It’s not as though you leaving will make everything that happened just go away,” Tony pointed out, letting his bath empty before looking back down at the kneeling magus. “I’ve still ended the war. I’m still married to you. None of that changes with you leaving.”

Stephen was quiet for a long moment after that, and the only sounds in the room were from the bit of dripping water off of Tony’s extremities and the sound of the water slowly draining from the tub. Tony sighed to himself.

“C’mon, the tiles can’t be good for your knees…”

“Don’t you like me on my knees?” The way the words were said shot rather conflicting feelings through Tony as he did a quick doubletake of the man.

On the one hand - yes, he made a pretty sight on his knees. On the other, Stephen wasn’t on his knees because of anything remotely sexual, or playful. His husband had yet to even look at him. There was a difference between kneeling in subservience and kneeling for something more playful, and Tony wasn’t entirely sure how to explain that to the man.

“Not like this,” he decided on, simply. He reached a hand down to touch Stephen’s head gently. “Come on. Either stand up, or we can move somewhere with carpet if you’re really going to refuse to be my equal… but either way…”

Stephen hesitated before getting to his feet, his eyes still nervously darting around. Tony’s eyes were drawn to Stephen’s hands, and for the first time, he noticed the dark blue velvet gloves that covered them. He reached out gently to wrap his hand around one, and Stephen startled enough to look up at him finally, dark rings under his eyes standing out in stark contrast to his pale skin.

“You look like you could use some rest,” Tony offered a tentative smile, holding Stephen’s hand gently. “I could, too.”

“I know some spells… that could help you sleep? Or… I’m sure I could think of something else I could do to help you rest…”

"Hmmm, I think I'd prefer doing things the old-fashioned way, call me traditional but...." Tony gently tugged Stephen in and placed his arms around the magus' waist.

This was probably the first time he'd ever been this close without some sort of sexual undertone and he was thoroughly enjoying it.

He leaned forward, and without any dawdling, he planted a kiss flat on Stephen's forehead. The sorcerer seemed confused, and he was almost worried when his hands ran over the sorcerer's back and he tensed but seemed to relax as his hands settled on his waist.

Stephen seemed at a loss for words but was compliant as he led him over to the bed. He was still in the towel and nothing else as he lightly coaxed Stephen onto his bed and wrapped his arms around his husband once again as they landed.

"I just want to spend some time with you… I mean, nothing more than to hold you because I just haven't gotten the chance to do that..." Tony's voice lowered and he nestled in closer, tucking his head in submission under Stephen's chin.

Stephen gently rested his chin over Tony's hair, closing his eyes. "If this is really what you want..." Stephen weakly rasped, his shakey hands coming around Tony. "I can't make any promises, all I can do is be here for you..."

“I’m not asking for anything more, Stephen. I don’t have anyone in my life who’s just… mine to talk to, without expecting things from me. Anyone who just sees me for me. I hoped…” he trailed off after a moment before correcting himself, burying his face in against Stephen’s chest further, “I  _ want _ that to be you. I want someone in my life to just… see me as human, not royalty, not an emperor… just a man. I bleed and I cry the same as anyone else… and so often it feels like people don’t see that. Like they think I’m made of iron.”

His fingers curled into Stephen’s Ironean robes, holding the man closer without squeezing too hard as he closed his eyes. “I just… one day… no matter how much time it takes… I want to fall in love with you. I hope you’ll do the same. I hope… we can have a happy marriage…”

He didn’t realize how tired he was. He didn’t realize it in the slightest as the exhaustion slowly seeped into him. He was asleep before he knew it.

* * *

The room was unfamiliar and it was quiet aside from the soft breathing against his chest. He couldn’t sleep, after everything Tony had said earlier it was hard to rest. He had a lot on his mind, but there was a strange fondness in him at the thought of Tony wanting to love him.

He hadn’t thought about someone wanting to love him for a while, not since Mordo had defected in the aftermath of the banning of certain types of spells. A lot of people had gone with him, and the scar over his chest reminded him of that constantly.

There hadn’t been a time in his life he’d been able to think about ‘settling down’ in any way, with war raging in his backyard all his life and the Sanctum being the closest thing he’d had in his adult life to a home, he’d never even considered getting married before all of this.

Yet, here he was. Married to a man that he barely knew, when he really thought about it. He didn’t know a thing about Tony’s hopes and dreams before tonight, and even that was the most basic understanding. He didn’t know what Tony’s childhood was like, or what kind of food he preferred, or what his interests were.

He was married to a stranger.

But the stranger wanted to love him. The stranger wanted to protect him.

The stranger was his husband, who looked  _ remarkably attractive _ when he was asleep. Not that he didn’t usually, Stephen had simply never really been the kind of person who thought people were attractive when they slept, in any way. The snoring and drooling and babbling was fairly offputting as far as he was concerned, but Tony was still and silent aside from the few brief moments he seemed to snuggle in closer, and Stephen felt a fond protectiveness of him.

Tony hadn’t sent him away. Despite everything he’d done, everything he’d said… despite being a broken wreck of a human being… Tony still wanted to try.

He knew he couldn’t promise Tony that he’d love him. He couldn’t promise Tony anything at all, he could barely keep control over his mental state to keep from spiralling into things he shouldn’t be thinking of. But the least he could do was offer Tony what Tony was offering him.

A chance.

* * *

He must have passed out after that and not woken from his slumber.

It was a presumption on things, and he'd woken up alone, once again.

He cursed, remembering that he was expected to deal with one more thing before the day was done and he immediately rang for Jarvis.

Tony sat up on the mattress, still in his towel with sore shoulders and a nasty kink in his neck. The imprint on the bed from where Stephen had been sleeping next to him still vaguely traceable and he sighed and rubbed a sore spot, sliding his legs over the edge as Jarvis came to his assistance.

"You called, sir?"

"Did I miss the orientation?" Tony groaned as he turned to look at Jarvis and the man remained resolutely static.

"Indeed sir, I did not see it fit to wake you since you'd had a hard day. Fear not, Master Strange filled in in your stead. I can assure you that with Miss Potts he was most effective and everyone saw that you best needed sleep after the consecutive strain."

Tony furrowed his brows.

Did he hear that right? 

Stephen hadn't left his room in days, this would have been the first, and he'd gone out of his way, especially without Tony's attendance, to act in his stead?

"Your meal will be here momentarily." The servant bowed cordially and left.

"Thanks, Jarvis." Tony finally stood with some groaning, all of the stress and work was starting to catch up to him, and although his sleep had been restful, he hadn't felt his body had fully recovered yet. His mental stress seemed to be manifesting quite violently in the form of strained sore muscles.

He took his time dressing in his robes, gingerly pulling on the soft fabric and straightening out his sash. He took the time to do up each piece with care, finally donning himself with yet another cloak, sitting down on his bed as he took a moment to massage his shoulders. 

He was interrupted when there was a gentle rap at the door.

Not having looked to see who it was, presuming it was Jarvis bringing breakfast. He heard quiet feet tentatively proceed over to him and he was more surprised to see Stephen rather than the expected tall manservant. He looked up at the taller man from his seated position with some evident confusion and surprise.

"Stephen!" It was more of a surprised startle than a greeting.

"I hope you slept well?" There was a brief pause before the magus joined him, sitting down at his side. Tony shuffled over a little to give him some room.

"As good as it could have been, probably better if I got the chance to wake up with you there." He jabbed playfully but grunted as he hit a particularly sore spot in his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I figured I'd let you sleep considering there were some tasks that begged your attention in the early morning. I offered, since it wasn't a task of severity and Miss Potts emphasized the importance of it to both her and the parties involved."

Stephen... Offered?

"I -" Tony paused for a moment, registering everything. "Thanks, though I could honestly sleep even longer if I was allowed to..." He jested lightly and Stephen flashed him a meek smile. "Hopefully your sleep was a little more restful?"

The magus nodded, sidling in a little closer and Tony tilted his head in curiosity, feeling some heat in his face.

"Take your shirt off." He instructed and Tony thought he heard wrong.

"Really? Already?" Tony complied. "I'm sore but I could never turn down some recreational fun." Stephen rolled his eyes as he helped peel the robes down to Tony's waist and his lightly trembling hands guided him to turn so his back was facing him.

Stephen's hands lit up for a moment and he placed them on Tony's back, beginning to trace circles over his shoulder blades. In an instance, Tony felt the inflammation cease, then his entire body sagged, relaxing.

It was wonderful, fuck it felt good-

"Stephen! Your hands, don't-"

"They're fine, it puts no stress on them." He continued with a quiet mumble, and Tony shivered as they ghosted over the arches of his back and sides, tracing down and up again with languid slow motions over the chiselled contours of his back.

He felt fingers brush and touch over the many scars littering his skin, up over his shoulders and down his arms.

His mind was blank during this process, eyes absently closing. The pain subsided soon enough, and that gentle touch left him.

"Thank you, that really did the trick." Tony turned to look at Stephen with a grin, getting to his feet and pulling his robes back over his shoulders.

"Anything I can do to help." Stephen followed suit, helping Tony with the remainder of his dressing. "Is the pain gone?"

"Yeah, never felt more relaxed." Tony looked up at him, the two very closely in each other's spaces as he lightly stole Stephen's hand. The magus curiously watched him as he leaned in and lightly placed a kiss on the middle knuckle, giving him back his hand just as quickly after.

“Jarvis said something about my meal being here shortly,” Tony continued after a few moments of an odd silence, “are you my meal? Or is there food somewhere to be had?”

Stephen gave him a strange look at that, shifting in his spot before getting to his feet. “I assure you, I would make a terrible breakfast.”

“What if I want you for breakfast?” Tony hummed softly, getting up to wrap his arms around the man, hugging him around the waist and pressing his cheek to Stephen’s shoulder blade - damn the man for being so tall.

“I don’t think I would be a very nutritious option,” the magus pointed out, glancing slightly over his shoulder and taking a moment before resting one of his gloved hands on Tony’s arm.

“Maybe not, but a little exercise to get the day started wouldn’t be the worst thing.”

The silence that followed that made Tony uneasy, though Stephen didn’t seem tense in the face of Tony’s flirtations. His fingers traced over Tony’s arm and he took a few deep breaths, before sighing a little bit.

“Is that something you… really want?”

The emperor considered the question before answering, moving up onto his toes to place a gentle kiss to the back of Stephen’s neck. He felt the man shiver a little in his arms and smiled.

“Only if it’s something we  _ both _ want. I don’t know exactly what you went through, and if you need time before you’re okay with anything like that it won’t change how I feel about you. It won’t make me any less proud to have you as my husband.”

“I wasn’t raped, if that’s what you’re insinuating,” Stephen muttered lowly, and Tony felt him tense up slightly in his hold. He held the man tighter, shaking his head.

“That doesn’t change my opinion on the matter. If you need time, no matter what the reason, I’ll give you as much time as you need to be okay.”

“Tony…” the magus twisted in his spot, his fingers brushing Tony’s jaw. “What does that mean, then, if I take years to be okay?”

“I expect you will. You went through something traumatic, recovery takes time. If it’s years before you’re okay with us having a more sexual relationship then… well, it’s a good thing I have my own two hands and a good imagination.”

"Must be some imagination, it would take a lot to keep up, honestly." Stephen chuckled softly.

"If only you had any idea what goes through my mind," Tony stated, a hand lightly wrapping around Stephen's waist which the sorcerer allowed.

"I think I have some inkling." Stephen hummed softly, leaning into Tony as he jested with him. Tony took the moment to enjoy their time together, a soft sigh escaping him as he finally pulled away.

They had a brief breakfast as Jarvis brought their food in, a quiet meal of tea, coffee and some small fixings with light verbal exchanges. Tony allowed the coffee to stimulate him more, waiting until he had been fully awoken by the morning stimulant before finally standing and smoothing out his robes.

"Try not to go stir-crazy without me around." Tony smiled as he prepared to leave and Stephen eyed him, quickly standing up.

"Wait!" Tony turned to Stephen who'd jumped up to stop him, a hand lightly on his arm.

"Perhaps I could shadow you?" Stephen's voice was a plea and Tony was more surprised if anything. "I'd like to do whatever I can to help you, learn your routine so that I may be of use in some way in the future."

"I mean, I would never say no to having your company, and I could think of multiple uses for you  _ here and now _ ..." Tony grinned playfully and then nodded, waiting for Stephen to slip on a pair of shoes and join him. "But, if you're sure."

Jarvis got the door for them and Tony let Stephen exit first. He let the door close after them once Stephen left and waited for the man to take his side as they headed out to take care of some of Tony's duties.

Many of them revolved around hearing out demands from the people of his Empire and local sect representatives. Amendments to certain areas of the city, construction proposals in integral areas. Most of it was incredibly mundane which required simple sign-offs where some were unavoidable meetings that had been put off long enough.

Tony showed Stephen how he handled each and every situation and in some cases let the magus take care of some of the simple tasks while he fronted the more complicated ones.

At first he was surprised by the dignity and grace that Stephen handled situations with, not to mention how easily he handled dispute resolution. Sure, he wasn’t dropping anything challenging on Stephen, many of the things he had Stephen handle were uncomplicated, but over the course of the day he was reminded that Stephen had been an heir of Vishan and he’d never considered what kind of duties that entailed.

He’d been told that Stephen had been heavily involved in the medical field and battlefield medicine, but there was no reason for that to indicate that Stephen would know how to handle court. Especially since he remembered how distinctly uncourtly Stephen had been when he’d arrived.

He found himself getting rather lost in things as he admired Stephen engaging with the people, and watched many of the people slowly soften towards the magus enough that they stopped gazing nervously towards the guards. More than once Pepper had to nudge him into paying attention, though the smile she kept casting his way suggested she wasn’t angry with him for his lapses.

By the time dinner rolled around, Tony couldn’t help but slip his hand into Stephen’s to lead him to his seat, not missing the confused look Stephen gave him as Tony pulled out a seat for him before slipping into a spot across from him and giving him a rather adoring expression.

“... okay what? You’ve been looking at me like that for hours now,” Stephen finally asked, his eyebrows raised as he looked across the table at Tony, who rested his chin in his hands and simply smiled more.

“Tell me about yourself. You only ever talk about bits and pieces… and for some reason it never occurred to me what it meant that you were an heir of Vishan beyond that you might inherit one day…”

Stephen looked caught off guard by the sudden subject change. Nevertheless, he nodded and folded his hands in front of himself on the table, still holding that look of hesitation.

"I suppose I never really got the chance to tell you about that part of my life, as much as I've been more than graced with fountains of knowledge on yours, and likewise whatever misinformation taught to us through the other side of the wall." Jarvis set down a tea setting and Tony took the initiative to pour Stephen a cup and fix it just to his preference as he spoke.

"I was raised in an academy after I lost my parents, studied as a scholar on the Vishan sacred grounds and we learned the routines day and night on what it would mean to take over should we need a new leader of our own." Stephen began, nodding and accepting the steeping tea as Tony gingerly placed it down on the table with a saucer in front of him.

"It comes off like this is all nothing new to you the way you caught on so quickly," Tony added, settling with a glass of wine from one of the decanters.

"It's part of the curriculum, our hierarchy is set up so any capable person can qualify and take over as an heir to the Vishan Empire. So when the treatise agreement was announced the Vishani sent it's chosen heirs, selected among many for our unique talents or excess in our fields of study." Stephen slowly raised the mug to his mouth to blow.

"Humblebrag?" Tony raised a brow, leaning over, quite invested with a broad grin.

"Well, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't well learned, study and practical knowledge were always my forte. We were given courses to absorb as much information as possible about your culture." Stephen leaned down to meet the porcelain cup with his lips and Tony watched intently.

Jarvis quietly came in with their meal and set it down on the table with a few other servants and Tony nodded his thanks.

“So how was the whole process narrowed down to the four of you?”

“Skill,” Stephen responded simply. Tony gave him a flat look and Stephen rolled his eyes in response.

“I don’t know. It’s something that’s decided by the Ancient One, and she’s the only one who can make those decisions. I’ve been told it’s some sort of spell and there are rumours it has to do with precognition, but until an heir is chosen near the time of their ascent they’re not given that information. Sometimes I wonder if she knew this would happen.”

“Are you talking like… Destiny? Capital ‘D’ Destiny?”

“No, nothing quite so concrete,” Stephen smiled. “It’s more complicated than that, which is why there are a handful of heirs, never just one. Fate is fluid.”

“That seems like leaving a lot up to chance.”

“What part of ‘fate’ seems like chance to you?” Stephen tilted his head, watching him curiously.

“I dunno, that whole thing just sounds a little suspect,” Tony hummed, his brows knitting together in thought.

“How is that more suspect than determining that your eldest male offspring will take over for you? What keeps that offspring from being unfit, either due to illness, or disposition?”

“... I mean, you’ve got me there,” he chuckled in response, leaning back as Jarvis returned with their meals.

"Funny, for the longest time I thought that it was quite the other way around." Stephen kept his eyes trained on Tony with that joke, and it took Tony a moment longer to register as the man switched from a serious conversation too lightly jousting with him verbally.

"I guess it would seem like that, wouldn't it?" Tony grabbed a portion from the closest dish, nabbing something light to nibble on. "It's not as if it's been the best for either of our nations."

"Apparently not." Stephen responded, back to his casual cadence once again.

There was a moment of silence as the two indulged in their meals quietly, the silence wasn't awkward by any stretch but it was consistent as they at their meals and enjoyed their choice hot beverage. 

Tony chose to be much more liberal with the time he'd give Stephen to finish his own meal considering his hands and when he'd figured the man was done he finally stood up to signal his readiness, smiling down to Stephen.

"Are you ready?" Tony asked and he got a small nod as Stephen set his cup down, finishing off whatever was left in the ornate porcelain cup. The emperor held an arm out to him and he gladly took it, looping his own with the brunette's.

Jarvis got the door for them, and once into the hall a couple of guards joined the couple in heading towards the main throne room of the palace. They didn't end up dealing with many more tasks than the day before, the general routine revolved around the same. Tony let go of the reins with Stephen, letting the man take initiative and even offer suggestions on how to improve certain systems and methods which was met with reasonable rebuttal from Tony.

It helped to have someone else there with him that had extensive knowledge of politics, but also someone who was open to the new ideas, willing to learn and give feedback in turn.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slight delay on this chapter, I had a few computer issues today! Without further ado...

“Tony?”

His sleepy voice made Tony smile as he brushed his fingers into the man’s hair. Stephen had stayed with him over the last few days as they’d grown steadily closer and Tony found it rather reassuring to wake up in the mornings with Stephen cuddled against him. 

He’d never assumed Stephen was the snuggly sort, but he was far from complaining about it. After everything that Stephen had been through - after what they’d both gone through together - he enjoyed having Stephen pressed close to him.

“Morning, beautiful,” Tony chuckled softly, leaning to press a kiss to his husband’s forehead with a smile that grew further as Stephen sighed and curled his arm around Tony further.

“Do we have to get up now?”

“You don’t if you’d rather sleep in. But I have a few things I need to do this morning,” he responded gently, pressing a light kiss to Stephen’s hand. Stephen rolled onto his back and rubbed at his face a little bit with a huff.

“Is it that important?”

“Well, if I don’t then Obie’s going to probably bust in here and decide to have a meeting with me while I’m in bed, so it’s probably for the best that I go to breakfast soon. I know you’re not a big fan of him, and personally I’d rather keep you two apart, so if you want to sleep in, I’m happy to tuck you in and know you’re safe and snug here.”

The magus gave a huff at that before rolling over and pulling the blankets over his head. “Then go have your meeting, I’m just going to sleep forever.”

“If you insist,” Tony laughed softly, pulling out of bed and heading to breakfast.

The Emperor went for his clothes, sliding them on over his shoulders as he fixed up his appearance and quickly combed his hair. The bright blue reactor on his chest glowed against the dark overcast shadows of the morning sun through his robes and he pulled the curtains over, getting a groan from Stephen as the magus shielded his eyes from the sudden flare of light.

"So, when will the day come where I get to have you in my bed without you hiding that gorgeous body of yours under less-gorgeous robes, hmm?" Tony joked, coming back over to Stephen after he'd slipped his shoes on.

"When you earn that privilege. Good things come to those who wait," the sorcerer chided playfully.

"Mmm, well, what if I'm impatient?" Tony grabbed the kettle and poured Stephen his morning tea, dividing his attention between the fox at the end of his bed and making sure he didn't put too much milk and sugar in the sorcerer's mug.

Stephen took his time, slowly making his way over to the setting, leaning over to whisper in the Emperor's ear while Tony was bent over fixing Stephen a small plate to go with his tea.

"Well, I guess that's just too bad for you, now isn't it?" Stephen purred, and Tony felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention along with… other things. He let out a soft groan and the sorcerer lightly planted a kiss on his cheek in response to that, finally taking a seat at the table and reaching for some of the sweets and small finger-foods.

Tony sighed, returning a gentle kiss to Stephen's cheek as he finished putting himself together.

"I'm late enough as it is, but I'll shower when I get back. Offer is there if you want to join me in the shower." Tony winked and Stephen simply took a slow tentative sip of his tea, smiling.

"Keep dreaming, lover boy."

Tony chuckled, and Jarvis got the door for him as he gave Stephen a wave before heading down the corridor towards the dining hall to join Obadiah.

* * *

The painkillers he took with his tea did a fine job of putting him back to sleep with ease. The peace, of course, never lasted long around the palace and it felt like it was only seconds later that someone was knocking frantically at the bedroom door, leaving Stephen groggy and mildly irritated as he crawled out of the warm nest that was Tony’s bed to deal with the door.

The carefully constructed attempt at a calm expression was belayed by the way Jarvis’ hands fidgeted and the general energy of distress that seemed to surround him.

“Master Strange, there’s been an incident.”

He didn’t take time to get dressed into more appropriate attire and he couldn’t be bothered by the people who were giving him surprised looks at his uncharacteristic lack of composure as Jarvis swiftly led him through the hallways and into the infirmary. Doctor Palmer looked at him briefly before making her way to the cot that Tony lay on.

“What happened?” Stephen was at his side in an instant, doing his best to keep out of Christine’s way as she carefully slid a tube into Tony’s nose connected to what appeared to be charcoal. “Poison?”

“We believe so. He and Lord Stane both collapsed after breakfast rather quickly. Lord Stane has been vomiting it up, so hopefully we don’t have to worry about him as much, though he’s still being monitored.”

“... but Tony hasn’t been vomiting?”

“No. We’re going to try charcoal, see if a small amount can provoke him to throw it up.”

Stephen hesitated for a moment before frowning and slipping in closer. “... would you allow me to try and work on extracting it?”

Doctor Palmer hesitated for a moment, looking around the room with a slight frown. “We should relocate him somewhere more private if you’re going to do what I expect you are.”

She didn’t wait for him to respond before gathering a couple of nurses and starting to work on moving Tony - cot and all - towards his private chambers.

Tony was moved in a manner of minutes, set on the bed in his chambers with the group gathering around him on all sides. Some of the nurses were dismissed from the quarters as Stephen got to work, mumbling a quiet spell under his tongue.

"How long has he been like this?" Stephen was running his hands over the front of Tony's chest, feeling his weakened heartbeat.

"We found him only moments after a guard brought Stane's condition to our attention, five minutes or so before you arrived." Christine watched Stephen work, fingers lit up as he ran them over his body.

The Emperor's breathing was incredibly faint and the rise and fall of his chest was barely noticeable. Stephen placed another hand at the side of Tony's abdomen, sending a jolt through his body to see if his muscles would respond to a stimulant. 

"A towel, please," the magus directed and Jarvis was at his side with one immediately which was placed next to Tony's head.

"Doctor Palmer, I need your help propping him up on his side." 

"Of course." She nodded to Jarvis and they turned the emperor towards Stephen, the towel placed in front of him as the magus focused on his spell.

"Now hold him," he directed as he started to motion with his hands. The tips of his fingers lit up and his hands shook, the pain from straining them starting to build up as he continued with stable, fluid hand gestures.

Tony's back arched as if the man had a thread attached to his chest and was pulling on him. His posture continued to shift as Stephen's fingers motioned up his chest to his throat and at that moment the Emperor's body shook violently and he wretched, foul inky-black bile out onto the towel in front of him.

Tony cried out in pain, the veins on his neck dimpling his skin, muscles clenched and tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as they went wide. He continued to expel everything in his stomach until all he could do was painfully dry heave.

It hurt Stephen to keep forcing him to heave and regurgitate, but whatever was in his stomach needed to be removed.

He didn't know how much damage the poison had done to his system, but when the Emperor couldn't heave anymore, he was lowered back down and Jarvis came in with another towel to clean him off.

"I need him propped up, and I need water immediately," Stephen motioned, removing the soiled rags and replacing them with fresh ones. Jarvis began to stack pillows behind Tony to prop him up enough and his face was tilted to the side.

“I can manage his fluid intake, Stephen,” Doctor Palmer offered quietly, and Stephen grit his teeth as he looked down to his trembling hands. He took a few deep breaths before nodding.

“I’ll get a cloth to clean him up-”

“I’ve already done that, sir,” Jarvis stated, though he tentatively offered the cloth to Stephen, who sighed deeply. He didn’t take the cloth from Jarvis, instead allowing the man to clean Tony up as Stephen sunk into a chair.

He hadn’t used magic like this in months, it felt as though he was a youth again learning to control it. Clearly he hadn’t restored his reserves appropriately; his body shook from the inside out and his hands ached bad enough that he knew when the adrenaline of the situation wore off the pain would be crippling.

It was as he sat staring at his hands that something warm wrapped around them, Tony’s cloak heating itself up to help ease the pain. Stephen held his hands and the cloak to his chest as he cast a look over at Tony on the bed, feeling his throat tighten with concern.

Poison wasn’t a small thing, and even if he’d gotten it out of Tony’s system for the most part, that didn’t guarantee that there would be no complications. Although Tony had been vaguely conscious for a few moments earlier, he had since settled back into some state of unconsciousness.

Doctor Palmer looked at him for a moment before fixing him a cup of tea and setting it beside him. “Have something for your hands…”

“It’ll make me sleep,” Stephen shook his head, “I want to look after him.”

“You won’t be able to help him if your hands hurt,” she insisted, and Stephen sighed, looking at the tea. The cloak moved to settle around his shoulders and he cradled the warm cup of tea, allowing the heat to seep through his hands.

“How is Lord Stane faring?”

Doctor Palmer shifted uneasily at the question, before shaking her head. “I’m not certain… so it may be ideal if I go and check. Are you going to be okay if I leave you to keep an eye on him?”

“Of course. I’ll make sure he stabilizes. I don’t intend to let anything happen to him,” Stephen assured her, and she gave a nod.

"Let us know if there's anything else he needs." Stephen nodded as Doctor Palmer left the room and Jarvis seemed to stay close for a little bit before dismissing himself a little later, eventually leaving Stephen alone with Tony.

Tony's sleep was not restful in the slightest. His husband's brow knit and he sweat in his sleep, tossed and turned on multiples occasions, and Stephen had to redo the cold-spell he'd placed on the wet rag upon his forehead.

The brunette shivered from the cold, his forehead swelled with a redness, overheating. Stephen gently swabbed the beads of sweat, waking from an exhausted sleep when the cloak squeezed his shoulders.

He silently prayed that the damage done to his system wasn't too bad. There was a period when Stephen had fallen asleep, and Jarvis had stepped in to give Stephen a brief respite as he rested.

When the morning came, he was lightly awoken by a gentle hand on the side of his face, feeling the hanging threads of hair over his brow lightly brushed aside with a shaky hand.

Stephen thought it was the cloak at first, but when he opened his eyes and saw Tony's hand weakly resting beside him he was immediately up.

"Tony?" He was awake far faster than his body was ready to be, and Tony weakly mouthed a 'hey' in a weathered raspy voice, throat dry and shredded from his ordeal.

Stephen fumbled around to reach for the water glass which the cloak had gone ahead and poured. It handed the glass to Stephen and the sorcerer climbed onto the bed so he could assist Tony in drinking.

"Here," he offered, and propped Tony up a little so he wouldn't choke as he fed the poor man.

Tony placed a hand over Stephen's to settle the glass from shaking, taking his time to siphon the water from the glass before he finally lowered the nearly finished glass and let out a raspy sigh.

"How are you feeling, do you need anything?" Stephen felt a little frantic, his voice shaking and his tone expressing all the concern in the world as Tony shook his head slowly, keeping his hand resting over Stephen's.

"No..." he struggled out, "just stay with… me." The rest of the words trailed into a mumble as he made an attempt to pull Stephen closer.

“I wasn’t planning on going anywhere,” Stephen responded quietly, curling his arms around Tony to hold him closer.

There was quiet between them for a short period of time as Tony nestled in against the magus, and Stephen smiled and held him closer until Tony let out a noise of discomfort, leaving Stephen to hesitate in his spot, before carefully leaning back.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything?”

“Hungry,” Tony mumbled softly though with some struggle, and Stephen sighed and gave him a soft squeeze.

“I’m sure you are. Everything you ate came back up and that was yesterday.” He brushed gently at Tony’s hair and the man groaned.

“What happened?”

“You were poisoned,” the magus explained, rolling onto his back and finding himself surprised by having Tony follow after him, curling up on Stephen’s chest.

“Obie?”

“He’s recovering,” Stephen soothed, and Tony frowned as he sat back.

“He was hurt?”

“Poisoned, just like you.”

“... so he wasn’t behind itt?”

Stephen was quiet at that as he considered the possibility, before simply shaking his head. “These aren’t the thoughts for right now. You need to be resting and recovering. We can try and get you into a bath and cleaned up of some of this sweat… I can ask Jarvis to bring you some broth to start with and see how your stomach manages that?”

Tony let out a groan as Stephen helped him up into a sitting position on the bed, stacking the pillows back up like before and offering a sip of water and Tony accepted it greedily. It was a slow process, perhaps Tony's throat may have been less swollen than before, but the pain was clearly still there and he could only assume that it would be a little harder to eat or drink anything with the damage that was done.

"God, it feels like I swallowed a basket of nails," Tony grimaced, and Stephen gently put the glass aside, rubbing the Emperor's shoulders gently.

Tony tilted his head back to help his airway open and Stephen felt his stomach sink with some sadness at his husband's condition.

"I'm going to get that bath running for you, I'll be back in a moment," Stephen gently soothed.

"Only if you join me," Tony rasped in an attempted joke, and Stephen headed over to the ensuite to get the tap going.

He took a moment to compose himself, kneeling at the side of the basin and staring at the ground. The anxiety was nearly as bad as when he'd been kidnapped if he had to compare it to anything. It was an awful feeling, and he kept replaying the idea in his head of losing Tony, just as he'd started getting to really come around to him and appreciate his company.

He really genuinely cared for Tony - he might have considered that he loved the man in his own way, as impetuous and flirtatious as he was.

He clutched at his chest, feeling an awful sinking sensation in his gut, nearly having his emotions overwhelm him before Jarvis called out to him.

"Master Strange."

Stephen put himself back together immediately and turned around. 

"Are you in need of any assistance for his Imperial Majesty?" The loyal servant offered and Stephen pulled himself to his feet as if nothing had happened.

"Actually, yes. Would you please grab some broth for Tony? Oatmeal, and a few soft-breaded sandwiches. Lighter foods would be preferable," Stephen reasoned, smoothing out his robes.

"Say no more, and if there is anything else I may help you with Master Strange, please don't hesitate to call on me." Jarvis nodded, his placid exterior more of the same but the hint of concern was easy to pick up on.

Jarvis left to fulfil his request and Stephen was back at Tony's side, helping him out of bed, and not without any sort of fussing from Tony.

"You still never mentioned if you were going to join me." He insisted playfully, with what energy he had. It tore away at Stephen to know that Tony was doing his best to play off what happened and still make light of things.

“You aren’t in any good state for anything even if I did join you,” Stephen pointed out softly, giving him a hand getting out of his clothes. Tony huffed.

“Why does having a bath with my husband have to be sexual, huh? Can’t I just want to be naked with you?”

“Tony…” he sighed, leaving the Emperor to deal with his own pants.

Now wasn’t the time to discuss Stephen’s insecurities with his scars, and he worried if the subject kept going in that direction that eventually that was where they’d end up. Tony needed to rest and heal, not concern himself with Stephen’s discomfort.

Rather than getting into it, Stephen cast a quick glamour over himself to hide his scarring before finally beginning to undress, watching the slight brightness in Tony’s eyes as he did. It felt genuine, at least. Tony was happy.

“Satisfied?” he inquired as he finished undressing, feeling exposed despite trusting in his spell to hold as he helped Tony over the lip of the rather large tub before slipping in with him.

“Immensely,” the Emperor smiled, tucking himself in against Stephen’s side and allowing the magus to run a cloth over him to wash away the sweat. He didn’t seem to notice the illusion, and Stephen was content with that, despite Tony gathering up one of his hands in both of his own and kissing them gently. He knew better than to hide the scars on his hands.

“Be careful with them, okay? I can wash myself if I really need to… as nice as this is, I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Tony lightly ran his fingers in between Stephen's, the soap on his hands aiding in gliding through them. 

There was a certain nervousness to Stephen, despite the glamour he was worried he'd be found out. It was hard enough that he'd hopped in with Tony, at war with his own emotions about his current physical state.

He knew that Tony had no judgement about his hands, but that wasn't to say it was the same for the rest of him. He still deeply believed that Tony could and would take one look at the imperfection on his back and grimace; it would be a point of contention between them.

The idea of spending time with Tony and indulging a man that had nearly died was much more important though, and in those thoughts he found himself squeezing the Emperor closer to himself and nudging his face down into the crook of Tony's neck.

He closed his eyes and lightly felt lips on his temple before Tony went back to gently pushing the water off his form, trying to exercise and regain his movement.

Stephen felt every shutter with Tony's body, and the weakness in his muscles when he took hold of any part of thim.

"How are you feeling?" Stephen quietly mumbled into his skin, lifting his face to look at him.

Tony had his eyes closed and lightly hummed in content. "Better with you here."

“I never left,” Stephen assured him as he rested Tony’s head against his shoulder and wrapped his arms around him. “Doctor Palmer trusted me to take care of you… I could hardly let her down. Or you, for that matter,” he added softly, bowing his head slightly to press a kiss against Tony’s shoulder.

“You’re being very affectionate.”

“You scared me.”

Tony peeked an eye open to look at him, his face still clearly exhausted though a light smile settled on his features. “... were you worried about me?”

“Of course I was,” the magus huffed softly, hugging Tony a little tighter against him. “It would have been in absolutely poor taste to let you just go dying on me when I’d finally decided I wanted to know you better.”

“Careful now, you’re bordering on sweet-talking me,” Tony’s smile split into a small grin. Stephen rolled his eyes, applying more soap to the cloth and running it over Tony’s chest, encouraging the other man to lean back against him further.

“My apologies, I’ll make every effort not to let on that I care about you again in the future.”

"Can't have people know - especially not me, that underneath all that quiet and aloof exterior there's actually soft little sorcerer under there," Tony nudged his nose against the prickly stubble of Stephen's neck and shut his eyes.

"Well, just consider it my secret identity, I'm counting on you to keep that well hidden," Stephen hummed playfully. He leaned his forehead down against Tony's shoulder and let out a deep sigh, arms tightening.

"If it makes you feel any better I'll try not to give you another spook like that." Tony playfully jabbed with a soft voice, it was still a little raspy but it wasn't doing anything to hinder him.

"I honestly hope so," Stephen mumbled into his shoulder.

"If these are the lengths I need to go to see my husband's beautiful body, I'd hate to know how far I'd need to go for anything else..." Tony started, and Stephen let out an audible sigh.

"Whatever happened to be patient?"

"Shortcuts. Shortcuts happened Stephen." Tony stated bluntly with as much energy as he could muster.

"If I have to shadow you everywhere, I will if it means keeping you out of trouble." Tony lightly splashed Stephen.

"You know I'd actually like that..."

“I’m sure you would,” Stephen chuckled softly.

“You know what else I’d like?”

“To be hale and whole?”

“That too,” Tony agreed with a slight nod, before shifting in his spot and running his fingers over Stephen’s back. Stephen tensed slightly, and by the look on Tony’s face he noticed. 

“... you’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?” the Emperor asked quietly.

“Nothing important,” Stephen responded.

“Are you intending to tell me why you’re willing to let me see the scars on your hands, but you feel the need to hide your back? I know how bad the damage was, Stephen, I know those kinds of things don’t just disappear…”

Stephen dropped his gaze to the water, uncertain and uncomfortable under his husband’s scrutiny. “This isn’t really the time for this kind of discussion, is it?”

“When better? There’s nowhere either of us need to be, is there? Just here, together, recovering…”

Silence hung between them as Stephen struggled with what to say, both feeling like he needed to excuse his actions in Tony’s eyes and entirely uncomfortable with the idea of talking about his scars. He’d never been particularly good at discussing his own imperfections, but this was the kind of imperfection he’d wear on his skin always - a blemish, a mark, some kind of scarlet letter that would ordinarily be apparent to all, as though allowing Tony to see his hands was insufficient.

“Stephen… nothing is going to change that I want to keep you near me, you know that don’t you? Nothing is going to change that you’re my husband, or that I chose you…” Tony offered tentatively, his touches light and caring.

There was still another period of extended silence while Stephen determined if he wanted to go down that path and how he would go about it.

This was all a rather enormous hurdle, a wall-sized obstacle he'd built up in front of himself and here Tony was knocking on the other side with a battering ram.

He knew it was only a matter of time before that wall would come crumbling down, and despite everything that had happened, he still felt that Tony could just turn around at any moment and deem him unworthy, toss him to the sharks - especially after everything he'd put the Emperor through with coming to his aid.

He was wholly sure that even if the assassination attempt may not have been Stane's handiwork, that it was certainly linked to him or even the Vishan nation. It all came full circle, it always did.

He was ripped from his self turmoil as he felt Tony's cheek at his shoulder, the brunette's eyes were closed and he had his arms securely around his midsection - but it wasn't just a hug.

He felt Tony's fingers at his shoulders, lightly tracing over the tender and sensitive scar-tissue on his back, ghosting over sore spots that caused him to tense and tighten but was gentle enough that they didn't hurt.

His hands traced down his spine, the scars extended right to his buttocks and where at any other time this kind of gesture would have been suggestive - at worst, perverted - his hands didn't linger and with a shepherding gentleness travelled right back up again, soothing him.

"I hope you can share that part of yourself with me, lord knows you've seen the worst sides of me." Stephen relaxed and took a deep breath, he closed his eyes and let his guard down.

He didn't want to see Tony's reaction when he showed him, he'd most likely be able to hear it in the silence as he begrudgingly nudged the Emperor away as he let his spell fade and turned around baring the deep scars and still-healing fissures on his back.

“They’re healing well.”

The response surprised him. The silence preluding it wasn’t extended, and after his husband spoke he could still feel the gentle fingers against his skin, tracing over marks delicately before a gentle kiss pressed to a spot on his back between his shoulder blades.

“I’m sorry you had to go through what you did, Stephen, but I’m never going to think any less of you for having these marks… why would you hide them?”

“I don’t like them,” the magus responded simply, “they make me feel weak and vulnerable, and I don’t like either of those things.”

“But you aren’t either of those things,” Tony whispered in response, pressing a kiss to Stephen’s shoulder next. “You may have been hurt, but you survived. Survivors are not weak.”

“I allowed it to happen to myself to begin with-”

“That isn’t your fault!” Tony insisted before Stephen could progress further with that thought. He shuffled around and his steady, calloused hands rested on either of Stephen’s cheeks as he encouraged the magus to look at him, despite Stephen’s resistance. “What happened to you is not your fault, not in the slightest. Nothing about what happened is your fault. It’s the kidnappers’ fault, it’s _my_ fault, but sure as the sun rises each morning it’s not your fault!”

A part of Stephen relaxed despite the words spoken being those he'd heard before in similar speech. All that mattered was that Tony wasn't going to walk out on him, that he would be here regardless of how undesirable he looked.

He'd nearly lost Tony once, among many other times he thought the Emperor wouldn't be there for him.

"If I had to say anything though," Tony started and Stephen held his breath with that low gravelly voice, "I think it's all pretty hot..." he murmured softly, and Stephen felt the Emperor's lips on his back, placing a kiss there before Tony rested his cheek against his shoulder and hugged him from behind.

"You really think so?" Stephen spoke up, his voice a little shakey from the shock.

"I know so, you're beautiful," Tony reiterated and pressed his forehead into the narrow spot between Stephen's shoulders. "Scars and all, they make you, you," he added softly, slowly leaving a trail of kisses down the sorcerer's back.

Stephen melted in his spot, growing weak with relief from both Tony’s words and gestures. He sunk down in his spot into Tony's awaiting arms, keeping his eyes closed.

Tony had slid his legs to either side of Stephen so he could haul the man into his lap, pulling them up against the tiled side of the bath and ever so lightly rest his chin on Stephen's shoulder.

"You're my world, Stephen..."

And as much as he wasn’t sure how to admit it, Stephen was starting to think Tony was his world, too.


	9. Chapter 9

If it had been up to him, he’d still be in bed, cuddled up with his husband and not having to deal with any of this. Of course, being the figurehead of the Iron Empire, and the target of an assassination attempt, his desires were not exactly in consideration.

He was bundled up in a large, fluffy robe nestled into his spot, his knees pressed against his chest and a cup of tea that Stephen had insisted he drink was settled between his hands, warm and comforting. Stephen’s expression was serious as he looked at two of Tony’s oldest friends.

“Suspicion alone isn’t evidence,” Pepper sighed as she sat back in her spot, shaking her head. “It’s not that I disagree about Obadiah’s involvement, but that’s not evidence enough to convict him. Not in a way that’ll safely keep Tony’s reputation intact.”

“While it’s not as though I’ve been perfectly comfortable around him, I still don’t entirely see what makes Stane so suspicious. What is the issue here? What has he done that makes him so suspect?” Stephen inquired as he glanced between Pepper and Rhodey, and Tony reached out a hand to curl it gently around Stephen’s. While the magus didn’t look at him, he did offer a slight squeeze of reassurance.

“Obadiah and Howard both had their reasons to go to war with Vishan,” Rhodey began quietly, and Stephen’s attention fixed on him. “I was young, then, but my predecessor mentioned some discomfort with what went on in those times. He suspected that Obadiah might have convinced Howard to begin the war for reasons other than those he actually had in mind.”

“You’re going to have to be a little clearer than that,” Stephen interjected and Rhodey frowned, crossing his arms.

“Howard went to war with Vishan over the belief that the Vishani were the culprits behind Maria’s assassination. My predecessor, Captain Steve Rogers, suspected that Obadiah’s motives for pushing for the war had to do with something called mastery of time.”

Stephen squeezed Tony’s hand once more, looking over his shoulder at Tony, even as the Emperor set his cup of tea down. “Stephen, before you talked about-”

“It’s very possible. I’m not certain how that information came to him, but… if that’s the truth…”

“It still isn’t enough evidence. Captain Rogers died decades ago, we can’t exactly have him come testify that. At this point it’s word of mouth. That’s not something you can build a case on,” Pepper reiterated, shaking her head. “We need evidence.”

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, running his hand up and through his hair as he closed his eyes at that moment to think.

"So far we have proof that Stane is a prime suspect in… Stephen's kidnapping, and so far he's been a presence in my attempted-"

"What proof?” the redhead shook her head. “Tony, you have a lot going on. I want to take your side, I really do, but you're dealing with an insurmountable amount of stress right now with everything going on." Pepper was clearly trying to tread cautiously with her words, and while they were comforting, they still held an heir of doubt with yet reasonable caution at the same time. 

"You need to focus on healing, getting better before you start hurling yourself into these kinds of investigations. It's not good for your physical or mental health at the moment."

A veil of silence fell over the room, the only sounds were Jarvis' light shuffling across the glossy tiled floor.

Rhodey was the first to break the quiet spell in the room.

"That still doesn't discredit the fact that there's something clearly not right about all this. This string of coincidences is something I'm going to monitor closely." Rhodey finally added, Jarvis quietly collected and tidied the space idly. "Given everything I've heard, and what I've seen with my own two eyes..."

Tony finally looked up with a heavy sigh, he felt Stephen's hand lightly squeeze his once again. He responded by leaning further into Stephen's side, nearly melting like a ragdoll into the sorcerer's shoulder.

"I'll find the evidence we need, if anything Stephen's situation isn't a closed case," Rhodey added Pepper nodded though had an unsure look on her face as she clutched her itinerary. "Tones, you focus on getting better, take some time for yourself for god's sakes." The brunette nodded and Rhodey turned to Pepper.

"Let me know at the first chance you find anything suspicious," the Emperor cautioned. "And Pep, just please keep an open mind, I just want to know you're with me on this since it feels like I have to look over my damned shoulder every moment of the day."

"I'm with you all the way, we all are," she nodded though her expression remained concerned, before Rhodey offered a slight bow and they exited the room.

Tony groaned.

"I promise you I'll get to the bottom of all this," he mumbled softly, staring down at his lap.

"I know you will, but I'm with Pepper on this in that you need to work on your recovery before you start getting so involved," Stephen's gentle words flitter through his ears.

"I… should go see how dad's doing… come with me?" Tony looked up with Stephen with pleading eyes.

"Are you sure?" the magus inquired hesitantly.

"Please, I need the company."

"Of course." Stephen lightly stood and helped Tony up, grabbing his arm and giving the Emperor as much support as he needed as they headed towards the door Jarvis had immediately stepped up to open for them.

Tony did his best to be self-reliant as they made their way to his father’s room, leaning against Stephen only when he found himself dizzy or feeling weak in the knees. They were definitely working on his recovery, but whatever he’d been poisoned with had a rather dramatic effect on him, leaving him with muscle fatigue and occasional bouts of vertigo.

Still, he couldn’t stay in hiding forever, and he’d been itching to get out of his room again which had been sufficient for Stephen to invite him to the meeting earlier. To his credit, he was doing an excellent job of taking care of things in the meantime, but that didn’t mean Tony wasn’t uneasy about the man being out on his own.

He was fairly convinced that Obadiah had it out for Stephen, at the very least, regardless of whether he could prove it or not, and he wasn’t ignorant enough to assume that people weren’t suspicious of Stephen taking over Tony’s role while he was recovering. He wanted Stephen to be safe here. He wanted them to be able to have a life together without all of this paranoia. He’d wanted to give Stephen peace.

He hated that he couldn’t manage that.

Stephen opened the door to his father’s room for him, and Tony made his way inside, his arm curled around Stephen’s waist to keep him close. Stephen must have mistaken the gesture for his anxiety about his father - which was fair, he supposed - as he returned the squeeze and gave him a sympathetic smile.

“We don’t have to stay longer than you want to. As soon as you’re ready, we can go.”

The Emperor nodded timidly, an unreadable expression glazing over his previous one. He timidly let go and stepped out of Stephen's space, approaching his father's bed with the likeness of a meek critter crawling from the safety of it’s hole.

He felt so small, and there was a heaviness to the air around them as he finally approached Howard's prone form and knelt beside him, staying silent.

Everything else seemed to fade out around him as if a thick veil hung over the room. Stephen stayed quiet in his spot near the door as he watched both of them.

He could keep telling himself that Howard was a horrible father figure, that he didn't need to shed tears for a man like this. With everything that had happened it was difficult, and his chest was heavy with building grief, feeling as if everything was all fresh and happening all over again. 

He felt so small, like the weight of the world had been placed on his shoulders, and in a sense it had. It didn't matter that his relationship with his father wasn’t the best, but that this was the last of his bloodline here in the Empire and it only reminded him of how he no longer had his mother, and how very alone he could have possibly been had Stephen met the same fate.

He didn't notice the tear slowly rolling down his cheek until it fell to his hand. Stephen had quietly come up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder which managed to pull Tony from his mind. It was at that point of contact that he felt his throat tighten and the grief roll over him in a wave, trying to suppress any sort of outburst.

Stephen lightly rubbed Tony's shoulder and the Emperor tried to hide his face, only a hand coming up to rest over the sorcerer's own trembling one.

"It's okay to grieve Tony, you're not some unfeeling entity detached from the woes of humanity," Stephen muttered softly in a low comforting voice. Tony's hand tightened just slightly around his and his breath once again hitched in his throat as he tried to keep everything down.

“It’s okay,” Stephen reiterated as he wrapped his arms around Tony, pulling him in against his chest. Tony melted into place, his face pressed against Stephen’s chest as he cried and clutched at Stephen’s tunic.

“It’s… it’s not okay,” Tony started, his breath catching slightly as his breaths stuttered. “I’m supposed to be an example to my people!”

“What people? No one’s here in this room. No one but you, me, and a man who can’t judge anyone for anything right now. This is a safe space to cry if you need to.”

The vibration of the man’s voice in his chest was strangely soothing, but Tony lost himself in his grief and stress. The paranoia in his own home, the fear for his husband, for himself, for his friends…

The sword of Damocles hung over his head, and he felt its presence constantly. The idea of getting better felt impossible. The stress was building, and he couldn’t imagine it improving. His father was going to die, that was a foregone conclusion, and the more Tony thought about it the more he realized that there was no undoing the damage of the war this generation. People were going to be suspicious of, and hateful towards, Stephen for decades if not the entirety of the magus’ life.

“Do you hate me?” he whispered against Stephen’s chest. Stephen’s hand moved to his hair, his fingers trembling amidst Tony’s locks as he sighed softly.

“No, of course I don’t hate you,” he responded after a moment.

“I’ve dragged you away from your home, I’m making you live here, amidst so many people who want… who don’t want you to…”

“Tony, why is this coming up now? What’s on your mind?”

“... I’m scared that you’re not safe here. I’m scared that despite wanting to keep you safe, I’ve already put you in danger and made it so that you can’t escape. You’re trapped with me, in this marriage, in this whole situation.”

“I’m not trapped.” The magus held Tony tighter, shaking his head. “I’m precisely where I need to be.”

“But… it’s not where you want to be, is it?”

“Tony,” Stephen tilted Tony’s head back, brushing at the tears on his cheeks with his thumbs gently. At first he looked like he was going to say something more, before he hesitated and leaned to press a gentle kiss to Tony’s lips.

It was nothing intrusive; light, tentative, and questioning. Whatever he’d been thinking before fizzled out in the moment of realization. Stephen had never kissed him before. Not like this. Never once, aside from during their rather dismal excuse for a wedding.

Stephen's hand travelled down his cheek with a feather-light touch, thumb gently caressing the bridge of his cheekbone and at that moment the tightness in Tony's chest ceased. All the tension and twisting in his gut seemed to melt away and his head nearly swam with the warmth of the gesture.

It took a moment for him to really register it all despite knowing full well what was happening. His arms tightening desperately around Stephen in an even tighter embrace, holding onto him like a life-line.

Since this all started it was as if he was cast into a turbulent ocean, being lashed at on all sides with his ship having sunken to the depths, and here this man was throwing him a lifeline amidst the white-capped waves.

A soft sound escaped him and he closed his eyes, relishing the moment. Though the kiss wasn't long it felt like forever as Stephen pulled away, brushing over his cheek once more with his thumb and flashing him a reassuring smile.

"I'm not going anywhere..." Stephen mumbled quietly and he pressed his forehead against Tony's. The brunette let his eyes fall shut, tears having stopped but breath still a little ragged from his episode.

"Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you here," he mumbled quietly, hands idly playing with the fabric of Stephen's robes.

The cloak took it's time curling around Tony's arms and offering its own reassurance, giving the Emperor a gentle squeeze.

Stephen helped Tony back to his feet, and he leaned on him, still staying closed to him as he gave his father one last longing glance and then nodded to the magus.

"Let's go..." The magus nodded and the two-headed back to Tony's quarters. Jarvis was surprisingly not there to greet them when they'd returned but they went back inside and Tony plopped himself down on the bed.

Stephen busied himself with setting a kettle to boil, using magic for the small menial task. They both occupied the space in comfortable silence before there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in." Tony sighed and Jarvis quietly crept in, walking over to him.

"Pardon the interruptions, sire, but I believe I have some news of extreme importance to you." The normally composed servant seemed to be a little cautious about his words, nervous even.

Stephen glanced up from where he was making tea, and Tony pushed himself into a seated position to look at the man.

“Is it dad…?” Tony inquired hesitantly, and Jarvis shook his head.

“No, your father’s condition has not changed to my knowledge. I was doing some checking with the stables and… one of the stablehands had dropped these, in something of a hurry, I imagine,” Jarvis added, setting a few pieces of paper down on a table.

“What are these supposed to be?” Tony groaned a little as he got to his feet, making his way to the table as Stephen finished making tea, joining him and setting the cups onto the table.

It looked like some kind of contract made out to someone by the name of Trevor Slattery, outlining a series of ‘rewards’ to be granted upon…

Tony’s eyes glazed over for a moment as he read, quickly swiping through the papers to the end.

_ Obadiah Stane _ .

“Tony?”

“... In exchange for monetary rewards and a to-be-decided position in the court… Trevor Slattery agreed to work as a messenger, exchanging information between Obadiah Stane and the extremist group in no man’s land…”

“The completion of that objective is only half of it, I’m afraid,” Jarvis clarified, shaking his head. “Stephen is not the only target. It fully outlines that these rewards will not be granted until your passing.”

“Is this some explicitly detailed assassination plot?” Stephen frowned, looking over at Jarvis, and the man shook his head.

“Not explicit, I’m afraid, though there’s… the implication there.”

“Do you suppose that he could be pressured to confess?” Stephen rubbed at his chin thoughtfully.

"To my understanding, incentivizing him may prove to yield some valuable information. A man willing to accept a sizable sum of money for such a deed could easily be swayed by either an even larger settlement or perhaps a threat." Jarvis folded his hands behind his back. "You are the Emperor sire," Jarvis turned his attention to Tony. "Perhaps I can keep an eye on things or-"

Tony was immediately at his feet heading for the door, seething. Stephen however hopped up behind him, reaching for his wrist which stopped the emperor in his tracks.

"Wait!" Stephen started. "Gathering a little more information could prove invaluable."

"I can't just sit around idle and-"

"Let Jarvis look around for more solid evidence, learn a little more about the scheduling. You're in no position to be up at the moment with everything that's happened. At least give it a night. Acting on the fly could forfeit us a strong case, remember what we're dealing with - which isn't just Stane, but your reputation in front of your people." Stephen gave him a challenging look through reasoned softly.

He let go of Tony's wrist as the brunette made no further attempts for the door.

"I won't let you down, sir." Jarvis nodded with a curt bow and left the room. The door closed behind him and Tony made his way back to the bed with some reluctance.

Stephen scooted over to him, an arm around his shoulders, giving him a gentle squeeze. Tony sunk into Stephen's hold and leaning his head onto his shoulder.

"You need to take some time for yourself through all this," the magus mumbled in a nurturing voice, tugging him down onto the bed and wrapping his husband in a warm embrace.

Tony was reluctant and unsure, he had so much he needed to do - things wouldn't wait for him. But given that Jarvis assured him that he could procure more information with a little digging he resigned himself, nestling into Stephen's embrace and tucking his head into the sorcerer's neck.

It was a safe place, he felt secure here, like nothing in the world could affect him.

“I just want all of this to be over with,” he mumbled quietly into the crook of Stephen’s neck, squeezing his eyes closed. “I just want us to be able to settle in, relax, have that sorta… nice… honeymoon phase…”

“Then I suppose we should make sure this is all taken care of soon, shouldn’t we?” Stephen soothed, guiding him over to the couch near where he’d set up the tea and sitting himself down before collecting Tony into his lap.

Unfamiliar with being cuddled like this, but too in need of the affection to protest, he allowed himself to be tucked under Stephen’s chin, sprawling his legs out across the couch and taking the offered teacup. 

“You gonna tell me what that kiss earlier was about?” he inquired quietly, cradling his teacup and nestling against the sorcerer.

“Am I not allowed to kiss my husband?” he responded with a hint of amusement to his tone, his arms draped around Tony’s waist as he held him close.

“You haven’t before.”

“I did when we were married…”

“I think we both know that doesn’t exactly count,” Tony pointed out. “Neither of us was really… in a good place when that happened.”

“Then I suppose we’ll have to do it again right, eventually.” A kiss was pressed to the top of his head.

“The kiss, or the wedding?”

“Both,” Stephen mused. “Perhaps in Vishan, when all of this passes and everything is finalized. For ceremonial purposes,” he added.

“Does that mean I get to peel you out of your fancy Vishan robes and jewelry after?” Tony teased, and Stephen hummed softly.

“Is that what you want?”

“I want you,” Tony responded more seriously, sipping his tea before shifting in his spot to watch Stephen carefully. “I only ever wanted you, and for you to want me in return…”

Stephen was quiet for a long moment, and Tony began to frown, before looking down at his tea. “It’s just something I want. I don’t expect anything. If that’s not something that happens then at the very least I hope we can be friends…”

“It’s not that,” the magus started slowly, his voice quiet and clearly hesitant. Tony couldn’t quite bring himself to look up from his tea, though he nearly managed to spill that as Stephen pulled him closer. “You already know…” he trailed off and shook his head, and finally Tony glanced up only for Stephen to look away.

“I… I don’t? I’m… not sure what’s going on, here, Stephen…”

“My back,” Stephen clarified, and realization hit Tony like a ton of bricks, but the sorcerer continued on regardless, “I have scars everywhere, and I… can hide them if you want I just-”

“Whoa, wait a sec. Hold up.” Tony set his teacup aside and shifted in Stephen’s lap, settling a knee on either side of Stephen’s legs and cradling the startled looking magus’ face in his hands. “Why would you think I’d want you to hide them?”

“Or, I don’t know, if you’d rather a concubine or whatever will satisfy you-”

“No. Nope. Stop that. Zip it.” Stephen made attempts to look away, but Tony’s hands held fast as he looked seriously at the magus. “What is all of this? Where is this coming from? When have I ever given you the impression that I wanted anyone else?”

“With my scars-”

“Stephen, I don’t give a shit about your scars! I thought we already covered all of this! I legitimately do not care! I hate the circumstances around why you have them, but nothing about them is going to stop me from thinking you’re absolutely gorgeous! What did I do to give you the impression that I thought otherwise?”

Stephen was quiet at that, hesitantly lifting his gaze to meet Tony’s in uncertainty. Tony offered a soft smile, stroking his thumb over his husband’s cheek gently. “Did I do something, or say something, to give you the impression I would think any less of you for your scars?”

“... no,” the magus whispered softly.

“Good. Because if I did, I’d have a lot of apologizing to do, and a lot to make up for,” Tony responded, pressing his forehead against Stephen’s. “I love you just the way you are.”

It was the soft gasp of air Stephen took in that brought Tony’s attention to what he’d said. He had to think about it a moment to realize it, but there was nothing about what he’d said that he could find fault with.

So he smiled, pressing his nose against Stephen’s gently.

“I love you,” he repeated, stealing a small, chaste kiss before moving back to give Stephen all the space in the world to retreat if he needed to. “You don’t have to love me, but that doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

The silence that followed wasn't assuring, but Tony had taken the risk when he laid all his cards out on the field.

Stephen wouldn't go anywhere, the most logical part of him knew somewhere that he wouldn't leave - he simply couldn't. Though doubt would have his mind running rampant like a lost child in a dark room.

Some reassurance came from the gentle squeeze that came as Stephen stopped him from moving out of reach, it cut the tension like a knife and Tony was able to find some solace when Stephen lightly tugged him back in, only an unreadable look on Tony's face as he did.

"I really care about you… I just need time to come around with everything that's happened. You mean a lot to me Tony, and you know I'm not mincing my words when I say that." He assured quietly, pressing a palm to the back of his head and carding his shaking digits through Tony's hair.

It was hard to handle all of this, and not everything would always go his way - sure, he knew that. Things like this couldn't be rushed, they took time and for Tony all he could do was a grasp at whatever line he was thrown as he was pulled through the turbulent rapids that were composed of everything that was going on right now.

By no stretch was he ordinary, nor was anything that had happened to him in any sense of the word normal. By extension, Stephen too, was just as equally a variable in all of this whether directly or indirectly and Tony was doing his best with the cards he'd been dealt.

“I said it before, I'll say it again." Tony murmured quietly, relaxing timidly. "I won't be counting the days… take all the time you ever need, Stephen. I'm just happy to have you here in my life, I would give you the world." His eyes cast downward and Stephen gently sifted his fingers through those short brown threads of hair, leaning down to rest his chin on Tony's forehead.

"I wouldn't ever ask the world of you." There was some amusement in Stephen's voice as his voice rumbled through his chest.

* * *

Jarvis had accomplished a lot, but Slattery was not immediately willing to cooperate. Yet, somehow, when Jarvis spoke with the man the following day, there were no hesitations.

Trevor Slattery was ready to talk.  _ Eager _ almost.

“I thought it was going to take some financial promises to loosen his tongue,” Tony admitted over breakfast, and Stephen gave a slight smile as he shook his head.

“I feel like you both over- and underestimate the applications of magic,” his husband responded, offering him a coy look over his eggs. “He just needed a little push.”

“Do I want to know what you did, or would I be horrified to hear it?” the Emperor asked, only half-joking. 

Magic was still mostly an unknown to him - a boogeyman, of a sort, that he’d grown up hearing only horror stories about. Despite having access to his magic, now, Tony had yet to actually see any active displays of magic from Stephen and a part of him was glad. There was a difference between knowing Stephen could use magic and actively witnessing it, after all.

“I just sent him a little nightmare, warning about the repercussions of keeping this information to himself… I suppose he got the message,” Stephen responded simply. Tony shuddered slightly at that.

He had his own history with nightmares, the idea that Stephen could inflict them was… unsettling, to say the least. In this case, however, it seemed to benefit their situation, so he wasn’t about to complain.

“As long as he’s willing to cooperate,” Tony sighed. “I’ll be meeting with him shortly after breakfast-”

“Alone?”

“No, of course not. Rhodey and Pepper will be with me.”

“... I’ll rephrase: you don’t want me to join you?” Stephen watched him over their breakfast.

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Tony smiled. “I’ve been doing better, I think I can handle it.”

The reality was he didn’t want to put Stephen through what he’d been through at the last trial again. He didn’t want Stephen to have to hear all the details of what his people had in mind for him, or what elaborate schemes had been put in motion to ‘deal with’ him. He wanted to give Stephen some semblance of peace here.

"I want you to stay safe. I'm confident in my abilities to handle this and I feel like without an audience then things will be much easier. Jarvis will stay here with you while we speak with Slattery, we'll be done before you know it." Tony smiled hopefully at him. "I'll need you for what's to come after."

Tony took Stephen's hand and gave it the gentlest of squeezes, that was enough when Stephen nodded.

"In the meantime, Master Strange, if you would delight in a jaunt about the gardens, Coulson would be honoured to escort us." Jarvis held his hand out ushering towards the door.

"Some fresh air would be lovely, thank you, Jarvis." The loyal servant nodded.

Tony nodded, he bid Stephen farewell with a kiss on the lips, holding his hands and letting the magus' fingers slowly slide through his own. They went their separate ways, Tony towards the meeting room and Stephen to the gardens, protected by Tony's most trustworthy men.

Coulson and one other female officer met Stephen as they went their separate ways, while Pepper and Rhodey had been there to greet Tony outside the conference hall, guarded by a few more palace soldiers.

They made their way into the room, a well-decorated room with a long table outlined by several seats. Tony sat down at the head of the table while Rhodey took up his right, and Pepper took up his left to act as a stenographer.

The Emperor leaned forward onto the table, hands crossed as he eyed up the man across from him, dressed to the nines - exceptionally well for a stable hand with two escorting guards next to him.

"Slattery," Tony started, feeling rather flared up by the idea they were interrogating the middle man involved in both he and Stephen's attempted assassinations. "Word says that you've had some enlightening news that you wished to share with us." Tony set a bunch of documental evidence on the table at his right hand and then went to fold his hands together.

"Your Imperial Majesty, if I may start off," Slattery cleared his throat. "I'm simply the middle man, I was bribed into fulfilling my position by Lord Stane, please take this into consideration as you hear me out." 

Tony had to admit that even with such a pressured situation the man was anything if not strong-willed and even cunning with the way he spoke.

"Please, state your case," Tony gestured forward, keeping his mannerisms and tongue cordial despite wanting to lash out at the man.

"I am but a humble stable hand," he began and Tony quirked a brow, "I was offered - nay, coerced by Lord Stane to reach out to some neighbouring patronage in order to fulfill his wishes."

Tony furrowed his brow. "And you are well aware that those 'wishes' of Lord Stane were the kidnapping of Master Strange, and the hiring of men to poison me."

"I ask for pardon in the revelation of the information I'm about to spare."

"Your pardon will be conditional on the success of our investigations," Tony added. 

Slattery nodded.

All the while Pepper was scratching away at a notepad, documenting the start of Slattery's confession.

There was well over two hours of discussion on the subject, between Slattery explaining the circumstances, and Tony and Rhodey making inquiries and requesting clarification. Slattery made it fairly clear that those who had abducted Stephen were not aware that Obadiah was involved in the slightest - keeping Obadiah’s name out of the equation was emphasized as a point of importance, to no one’s surprise. That didn’t mean they thought Slattery was in charge, either.

“It was made clear from the outset that I was not the man in charge,” Slattery explained, “I was a go-between for an advisor figure in the palace, which meant I didn’t need to agree to terms immediately.”

When pressed further about the circumstances of Stephen’s abduction, the man looked at his hands as though in unease. “I never laid a finger on him. Admittedly, I don’t approve of violence. It was a part of why my job at the palace was so important to me… it’s away from the warzones. I have no taste for it.

“That doesn’t excuse what happened, however. I participated, whether directly or not. People came from all over for the wedding, so it was no struggle for the kidnappers to slip in or out without being noticed - I’m sure you went over that during the trials, and don’t really need my clarification on it.”

The more unnerving thing was the answer to a question that had never really been clarified before, regarding how they had known where to find Stephen. Slattery’s shake of the head and tight-lipped grimace made him uncomfortable, but it was his words that alarmed Tony.

“One of the gardeners,” Slattery responded, “at least, to the best of my knowledge. Maya Hansen, I believe. She also provided the poisons that were used both on you and on Lord Stane.”

Tony cast a sharp look at Rhodey at that. “Stephen’s in the gardens now-”

“With two of my best, Tony. He’s safe. Tell us more about Ms. Hansen’s involvement?”

There was very little more information that Slattery could provide on that subject matter, indicating that the go-between for Obadiah and the gardeners was someone else entirely, a man by the name of Aldrich Killian.

“You have to understand, I was chosen for my position because of access to the stables, and for more… outside work. The goings-on inside the palace were an entirely different matter, unassociated with me. I just heard things, in passing.”

When they finally concluded, Rhodey collected up a couple of guards to arrest Killian and Hansen, with Slattery under house arrest and under guard. Tony would not be stopped before he found Stephen and made certain that he was safe, however.

Pepper and Tony gathered outside of the conference room after the interrogation had concluded to discuss the information that had come to light in the trial.

Slattery was conditionally allowed back to work on the basis that any sort of further treasonous activity be reported straight to Colonel Rhodes and the Emperor.

There was plenty of incentive for Slattery to cooperate, and with the signed confession they nearly had Stane and his accomplice dead-to-rights. He'd been more than cooperative with the offer of his potential freedom and a warrant based on the information he returned. It meant he was double-dipping into the pot, but overall Tony could finally put an end to all of this shady background activity and Slattery would be granted a pardon if his information checked out.

Tony was infuriated by Stane, but a part of him knew well enough the advisor had been behind all this from the beginning, he'd simply needed the proof. He had a much more determined mindset with the now present solidified proof and was less blinded by his anger for the advisor and more guided to put an end to it.

"Well this is proof enough to put Stane away, and with this on record, there's not really much Stane can do to testify against it." Rhodey crossed his arms looking at Pepper, who nodded in agreement.

She would be hard-pressed to deem any of this evidence inexcusable but spoke up regardless.

"Keep in mind Tony, that there are more people out there that despite the hard evidence, will still take Obadiah's side given their distaste for the Vishan," she nodded.

"Right, but if we don't start here, where can we? We can't just let him get away with this."

"I'm not saying we should, I'm simply warning you that the road ahead will only be much harder. I know things have been difficult for you so far, but they aren't getting any easier. I'm here for you, but please stay safe, and please just take caution when you approach this." Tony sighed but placed a hand on Pepper's shoulders and nodded.

"Thanks, Pep, I know. Everything has been crazy but there's some walls we need to tear down in this government, everything that's wrong with the Empire starts here, with Stane. I know this is only going to be an uphill battle." He admitted sadly, and both Rhodes and Pepper nodded. "Keep your ear to the ground for me, we're on the right track.

Pepper nodded and turned to leave, heading back to file the records from the interrogation. Rhodey stayed and walked alongside Tony towards the gardens to meet up with Stephen, everything seemed like it was going smoothly up until one of the palace guards intercepted the both of them, catching Tony off-guard.

"Your Imperial Majesty," the man seemed out of breath as if he'd been running. "Miss Christine is summoning you to your father's quarters. She regrets to say that his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Howard, has passed away."

Tony’s face paled.


	10. Chapter 10

Tony was certain that his father would have liked for Obadiah to be there for his funeral.

Unfortunately, Obadiah was busy in a prison cell awaiting trial for the attempted murders of Tony and Stephen both - high treason.

He wasn’t so sure how Howard would feel about Tony’s husband being there - or the fact that Tony had married a man at all - despite being a part of the reason Tony married a Vishanti to begin with.

But he stood in the light, misting rain with his fingers laced in Stephen’s, watching as his father was sealed in his family’s tomb.

He really tried not to cry, and as much strength as he drew from Stephen’s presence, when Stephen wrapped his arms around him to hold him, he shuddered and buried his face into the taller man’s shoulder. Stephen quietly escorted him away from the site and spent the rest of the day curled up with him, bringing him tea and water, soothing him, and cuddling with him.

The sorcerer listened as Tony ranted about the things he hated about his father, the things he wished he’d been able to say, the things he loved about his father, and the things he admired. He didn’t judge him for some of the things that Tony felt awful saying, making sure that Tony kept hydrated and was shown the love and support he needed.

And he did feel loved.

For all the grief he felt, despite Stephen not saying it, he felt loved when he was safe in Stephen’s arms. He felt loved as Stephen pressed kisses to his face, he felt loved as Stephen ran his hands in his hair, and when he got him water. He felt loved as he cried and was allowed to cry without judgement.

Stephen even talked to him about his own family, a little bit. It wasn’t something he’d done a lot of before, explaining that he and his father had a complicated relationship before he died as well. He knew what it was like to lose someone, and to have complex feelings about that loss.

“This is a safe place to be angry,” Stephen soothed, when Tony admitted he wasn’t certain how to process the feelings. “This is a safe place to admit that things weren’t perfect. There’s no one here but us, and there’s nothing wrong with sitting with those emotions and acknowledging them. You can’t hold on to them forever, the only person those feelings hurt now is you.”

“What about you?”

“They don’t hurt me.”

“I mean, what about your feelings? What about the things you went through? How are you… I haven’t even asked how you’re coping with them, or if you need to talk about it or-”

“Now isn’t the time,” Stephen hushed him, pressing a sweet kiss to the top of his head. “We can deal with them when all of this is handled. For now, we concentrate on what you’re struggling with, we get through the trials… and when there’s time, we can talk, and it’ll be easier knowing that justice has already taken care of things.”

Tony looked pained but nodded in concession, weakly squeezing Stephen's hand as he drew his husband in and wrapped his arms around him protectively, not wanting to let go and have to leave him here - to go face justice and lay the monsters of their court to rest.

"It's going to be some time. I don't know how long the court proceedings for the day will run but I'll think of you while I'm there, and when we get back, I want to hear about your thoughts, since it feels like, with everything going on, it's been too much about me." 

Stephen flashed him a knowing sympathetic smile as Tony leaned up on his tip-toes to sneak in one more kiss before he had to extract himself and head to the pretrials. By all considerations, he was borderline on being late and he gave one last glance, leaving his lovely sorcerer to his own devices as he made his way to the palace courtrooms.

* * *

The things people had said, the accounts of deeds some of these monsters had committed.The trial brought out more than just what they knew already but many further schemes under the table that had yet to be fulfilled. 

It didn't paint Obie in any sort of redeemable light and it made monsters of men in a kingdom with layers Tony had only barely ventured shallowly below the surface of.

It was an emotional and mental toll on day one alone that he wasn't ready for in the wake of his father's passing. He'd anticipated something bad, but not this bad. There was clear discrimination and bias which arose from the confessions of both the directly and indirectly involved, papers and notarized documents, receipts that sunk the nail into the coffin for Obadiah and the men he'd hired that Tony simply need grab the hammer.

And he found himself to blame through all of this, for being so ignorant to the type of inhuman treatment and collective ill-mentality that spread through the people of his kingdom like a plague. 

It was sickening, and his stomach churned as he heard the type of insidious things they had planned for Stephen had their deeds been met, and further - the things they still yet planned.

But that was it, plans that had been cut from the stem as the organization of radicals exposed throughout the first trial which had revealed it's bared, rotten roots.

It was too much to think about as the Emperor trudged back to his quarters, with only the idea of Stephen having the opportunity to exist in a hopefully more progressive realm after all this to bring him solace. 

Jarvis got the door for Tony, the long walk haunted by a ghost of silence. The brunette looked completely and entirely unravelled and he slunk against the door in exhaustion as he crept into the room. Stephen, reading over at one of the tables, immediately became alert and at his side with an inquisitive look as he placed his hands on Tony's shoulders.

"How did it go?"

He didn’t speak as he shuffled closer, his shoulders slumped as he planted his face against the crook of Stephen’s neck and carefully wound his arms around him. A part of him expected Stephen to back off - he felt gross, he felt as though he had contributed to Stephen’s suffering, why wouldn’t Stephen want to flee him? - but the man simply slipped his own arms around Tony in return, resting his head on Tony’s.

“That bad?” Stephen inquired, tilting his head slightly. A startled squeak left the man as Tony pressed a couple of light kisses to his neck before carefully starting to withdraw, and by the time Tony could see his face again his brow was creased with worry.

“Tony, what happened?”

“I don’t deserve you,” he responded quietly.

“What are you talking about?”

“I put you in so much danger bringing you here. I was oblivious - no, willfully ignorant - to the dangers you would face in being here, and I kept you here anyway. I put you in harm’s way…”

Stephen sighed softly, carefully drawing Tony back in and shaking his head. “You don’t get to decide whether you deserve me or not,” he responded, “I get to decide that.”

Tony's arms and muscles locked with a hesitant tenseness. Stephen had to put some effort into drawing him back in. He feared going back to the refuge of his arms, as if he would be burned by contact.

He abated his resistance and Stephen won out, shaking as he felt the magus’ fingers carefully carding through his hair and leading him over to his bed.

"The things they said, the things they made mention of, and with no cause or purpose other than to perpetuate war. I never expected it to be this bad, it's too much." The Emperor shook, overwhelmed by everything going on.

He still deeply feared losing Stephen, and his fingers curled, tugging at the fine fabric of his robe as he shut his eyes and hid in the front of his shirt like a frightened youth.

"If you're not going to tell me about this then I don't want to hear about it," Stephen mumbled softly, "Any of it, let's take your mind off things." He gave another tug and Tony only let out a very uncharacteristically surprised squeak in response as they landed on the bed sideways, Stephen refusing to let him pull away more than a centimetre.

“Isn’t it… a little early for bed?” Tony inquired, recognizing that he hadn’t eaten yet, and neither of them were really dressed for bed, but finding himself sinking into him in regardless.

“Maybe,” Stephen hummed in response, “but there are things that bed is good for other than sleep.”

“Sex?” Tony pulled his head back to give Stephen an uncertain look. The magus chuckled softly as he looked at him.

“I suppose that, too. I was thinking cuddles, but if you had sex in mind… if that will help you relax…”

“You seemed a little… odd about being naked around me lately, I don’t want to push.”

“It’s not pushing,” Stephen responded, pulling him closer and shaking his head.

Tony nodded, planting a kiss on Stephen's neck before peeling himself out of his embrace. He wanted to stay there, it was nice and warm, it felt safe, but he'd be right back.

For the sake of not wanting to flounder while drunk off heated passion, he quickly went to gather a few things. He procured a warm bowl with a cloth, a towel and a small vial and set them on the bedside table.

He made no ritual of letting his robes drop to the ground, already at his buttons and undoing them as he went over to Stephen, shirt already open in the front by the time his knee hit the mattress.

Stephen's hands went to do his own, seeming hesitant for a moment before Tony grabbed his wrists to stop him.

"No, let me do the honours." He brought Stephen's knuckle to his mouth to lay a gentle kiss on it before carefully maneuvering his arm up above his head and nestling down beside him. He took care to undo the magus' shirt, sliding it off of him with tenderness, eyes immediately fixed on the sorcerer's bare chest as if he was seeing it for the first time.

In a way, he was.

Stephen’s scars were on full display, and he carefully schooled his features to make sure none of his agony at their appearance showed. He didn’t think less of Stephen for them, and he didn’t want the magus to think he did. 

No, his feelings were of grief and impermanence. How easily could those scars have just been the marks left on a corpse? How easily could they have been the wounds that killed him?

He forced the thoughts back in the face of the soft smile Stephen gave him, running his fingers over one of the scars before tracing over it with his lips as he gently leaned his husband back over the blankets. 

Gentle fingers ran over his stomach and Stephen squirmed and puffed out a laugh that left Tony feeling warm and content, though he obligingly rested his palms on Stephen’s stomach rather than accidentally tickling him.

Tony looked down with all the love in the world for the man he was proud to call his, for the man he'd risk everything for - and then some. He ran his hands over Stephen's body, allowing his fingers to explore every inch of the man before they had found their way to his waist and undid his pants.

He felt Stephen shiver under his touch, stomach rolling as his fingers pulled down fine silk from his waist to his knees and left him in just his undergarments, which did nothing to hide the state of his arousal.

He wanted to take his time. He'd been going non-stop and for the first time in a while he had time, had a moment to spend with Stephen that he could only dream of lasting an eternity.

He leaned over and began to explore Stephen's chest with kisses, visiting each scar on his way down as he dotted them down his abdomen to his belly.

“Tony.” His name was a sigh on his husband’s lips, soft and light as his fingers brushed at Tony’s hair, and Tony glanced up to see bright, attentive eyes watching him.

“Hm?” He pressed a few kisses over the line of hair that led from Stephen’s belly to the boundary of his undergarments.

“I love you.”

The Emperor looked up for a moment, offering a brief but warm smile in return. “I love you, too. And I’m going to show you just how much...” he gestured broadly to Stephen, before slipping down to mouth at Stephen’s cock through the fabric of his underwear.

Stephen had nothing more to say on the matter as his body shifted in place and a soft moan left him. His hands fell away from Tony’s hair and rested amidst the blankets and Tony watched as his head leaned back further into the mattress.

His nose brushed against the shaft through the soft fabric, kissing, playing, cherishing him. His palms gracefully rubbed up and down his thighs, taking the sounds of Stephen's pleasure as a sign to push onwards as he carefully peeled away the final garment and planted his lips on the crown of Stephen's head.

He twitched under Tony's ministrations, and his palm went to cup the sorcerer's balls as his mouth worked once again along the shaft before he took Stephen in his mouth and rolled his tongue over the bottom of his length.

A thumb brushed over his skin, and he gave a gentle squeeze, taking him with a fist as he worked both ends lovingly with hand and mouth, forcing Stephen to sing out with that beautiful voice of his.

It was no challenge at first to fully swallow Stephen - he wasn’t exactly fully erect to start with. But he found a deep sense of satisfaction in feeling his cock slowly hardening in his mouth, feeling it twitch as he continued. His tongue ran wherever he pleased, often following the creases and veins, running along the edge of his head. A little hum caused his husband to jerk and cry out and Tony kept his smile to himself, pleased by the reaction.

As he worked Stephen to full hardness with his mouth, tongue and hands, he considered whether or not to spring another idea on Stephen. So far with their intercourse Tony had held all the power, he’d dictated the pace, and it had always resulted in Stephen being on the receiving end of things. Really, Tony didn’t even know if Stephen had a preference or was simply going along with what he thought was expected of him.

He wanted to fix that. He wanted to know his husband better, to provide for him better, to  _ be _ better for him.

His voice was a little rough when he finally did sit up, giving the clearly flush man a thoughtful smile and adjusting to run a thumb over his cheek. Stephen’s thighs immediately wrapped around Tony’s hips, and Tony reached to stroke his thigh thoughtfully.

“Is this how you want it?”

“... pardon?” Stephen’s look of confusion made Tony chuckle quietly.

“This… do you want me inside of you?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Are you sure? We can do it the other way if you want to…”

"It would be a treat to hear your voice used to call out my name in pleasure. It would sound nice on your tongue," Stephen purred quietly as he caught on quickly enough.

Tony's cheeks bloomed from the coy forwardness and, only for a moment, he looked away, not familiar with taking on the role of receiver. "I've been calling all the shots until now, and I think I just need to let go," he sighed with as his voice trailed. He placed idle kisses on Stephen's stomach, conceding as Stephen made gentle attempts to guide him onto his back and flip their positions.

Stephen lightly took up Tony's face, bringing it to his own, the Emperor was encouraged to move up with the whims of his gentle demand as he locked his mouth over Tony's and Stephen showed him in return just how much he meant to him in the form of that kiss.

Tony's hands found Stephen's waist, and Stephen's hands found the lip of his pants, where light use of magic aided his fingers in undoing his trousers so he was able to slip them off. He then nestled himself between Tony's legs, weight down on the Emperor's chest and he began to do to the brunette what he had just shortly been doing to him.

The Emperor puffed a shaky breath as Stephen pulled away, curling his head into the magus' neck as he reached for the vial. He was already semi-hard, but the idea of having Stephen on and inside him - one of the first few - fired up his blood and made his head swim.

"Are you ready?" he rumbled softly, making soft slow gestures. Tony heard the vial corked and uncorked, and he nodded into Stephen's clavicle.

"Yeah..." He felt warm wet fingers slide between his legs, and his breath hitched, causing him to stiffen in surprise and then relax, letting out a pacified groan as a finger slipped inside him, and he clutched to Stephen for dear life.

“Y-your hands,” he protested slightly, far from wanting Stephen to hurt himself, and his husband chuckled softly as the finger curled and dragged a low moan from Tony.

“My hands will be fine,” Stephen responded gently, kissing his inner thigh and taking his time to slowly stretch Tony. “For now, for this moment, I think I can manage to protect them well enough to take care of you.”

He realized in that moment that he’d forgotten Stephen’s magic - it only occurred to him as he felt a slow vibration seeming to tickle over his skin, a warmth and something he wasn’t at all familiar with.

“Stephen?”

“If you don’t like it, I can stop… I’m not exactly familiar with how sex works without magic,” Stephen hesitated, looking up. “But I wasn’t planning on doing anything over the top…”

"N-no, it just surprised me," Tony laughed a little nervously, hands resting loosely on Stephen's shoulders as he continued.

Tactile fingers played, stretched, coated him with the aid of magic which warmed and tingled inside him. It was a sensation he wasn't used to but in no way was he anything less than enjoying the magus' ministrations. In fact, he found himself growing hard pretty damn fast, cock twitching with arousal as precum dripped onto his stomach and he was almost embarrassed how amazing it felt.

"Stephen," he huffed with a whimper, "just save it - take it down a notch or I swear I'll finish before you're even ready," he strained to get out. 

"That good then?" Stephen simply chuckled, slowing his application and dimming down the magical effects, giving Tony a chance to breathe as the emperor arched back into the mattress beneath him.

"Y-eah," he squirmed, and the grin on Stephen's face only widened. "I'm ready already, just - please," he begged with a shaky breath.

“I thought I’d take my time with you, and then you go and say such sweet things,” Stephen hummed softly, leaning in to press a couple of kisses to Tony’s neck. “Well, I can’t very well deny you, can I?”

Carefully removing his fingers, Stephen moved down to press a soft kiss to Tony’s abdomen before sitting up and gently running his hands over Tony’s thighs. Finally, he positioned himself, watching his husband with such a warm smile that Tony was almost certain his heart would melt under the affection.

“If you need me to stop, or pause, at any point… let me know,” the Vishanti stated, before slowly beginning to slide in.

"Nnngh- god Stephen, just hurry up already." Tony tilted his head, voice laced with a wanton moan as he threw into the pillow, biting his lip as Stephen seated him.

He felt the very fibre of his being unravelled string by string as Stephen pushed in, hot hardness between his legs, gliding through warmed muscles and his stomach rolled with a pleasure he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Doing alright there?" Stephen husked softly and Tony squirmed underneath him, blindly reaching for his arm in demand to have him closer to him. The magus obliged, and the Emperor scrambled to grip more of him until he'd lowered himself enough for Tony to lock his arms around his shoulders, prick twitching anxiously as he clutched for dear life.

"It's been a while, hush..." he crooned softly and slightly embarrassed.

“That’s why I’m taking my time,” his husband laughed softly, leaning to nudge Tony’s cheek with his nose. “Plus… it’s been a little while for me, too, and I need to rein in my general instinct to… you know, use… magic?”

“Less talking, more fucking,” Tony groaned at that, and Stephen stifled another laugh against Tony’s shoulder before sitting up and giving him precisely what he asked for. 

A quick, short thrust gave Tony a start and drew a sharp cry from him. Stephen smiled in answer, quickening his pace into a steady rhythm and letting vibrations trail from everywhere his fingers touched, warm and tingling shots of pleasure.

Tony's eyes fell closed and he squeezed Stephen around his shoulders, his stomach was in his throat as his mouth opened to let out a breathy gasp. His chest rolled with building pleasure and he let noises escape he never even knew he was capable of making, cheeks painted scarlet as his mouth opened and closed, voice temporarily lost to him.

Stephen smiled down at him, picking up the pace. He stopped for a moment to get a grasp on Tony, only to keep going once again at full speed.

Tony let out another sharp gasp, fingers curling as his cock twitched again and drooled between their forms. Laces of glistening fluid tethering their crushed bodies together as the Emperor writhed, not knowing how long he could hold out.

"Stephen I'm- ugh, please." Tony's nails raked over the magus' spine, clawing for purchase again as he constantly squirmed restlessly.

“Hmmm?” Stephen’s voice was low as a couple of puffs of air left him, his long form stretched out over Tony’s as he caged him in with an arm on either side of his head. “Something you want…?”

Before Tony had the opportunity to respond, fingers curled around his cock loosely, and Tony bucked into it without hesitation. His moans were stifled into a kiss as Stephen’s thrusts eased up a little for the sake of a few gentle, but increasingly deepening kisses, and Tony allowed himself to be lost in the feelings both physical and emotional.

His orgasm hit him with all the subtlety of a battering ram, and Stephen swallowed his moans in deep kisses, cum glazed fingers delicately dragging him to the precipice of over-sensitivity before he sat up and licked his fingers clean, smiling warmly down at his husband.

Tony was nothing short of a boneless mass on the covers beneath Stephen, huffing and panting, trying to catch his breath as he let himself drift in the stream of bliss that followed. He saw his husband in a much different light, and if it wasn't obvious before, it was now as he looked up to him, chest rising and falling heavily as his heart-rate came down.

He let the emotion of their physical bond manifest and he never loved that man more than now as his palms lightly rested on whatever he could grasp of Stephen's limbs from his position, having trouble with the aching arousal from seeing his gestures. 

There was a lull before Stephen picked up and finished again, causing Tony to once again crow out hoarsely from both pleasure and over sensitivity as everything became a blur and a haze from Stephen finishing to leaning back over to take him into his arms once more. 

His muscles were weak, he could barely move at this point and all he wanted was to wrap himself around Stephen and never let go.

"You're the best damn thing that's ever happened to me, I love you so much..." he managed, face blemished with a red tint, his arms draped back around Stephen and he closed his eyes, curling around his husband.

Stephen’s fingers delicately trailed over his arms, along his cheek and jaw, and feather-light kisses brushed over his neck and shoulder on the other side as the man stayed settled there with him, holding him close and doting on him rather thoroughly.

“I didn’t ‘happen to you,’ Tony. You chose me. Being born into your status happened to you, don’t discount your own ability to make good things happen. You chose me, you chose to have me in your life…” his voice was low and soothing as he spoke, and his nose nudged in against Tony’s neck. “Thank you for choosing me.”

Tony opened his mouth for a moment to speak, a lump in his throat forming as his mouth once again opened and closed before he clung to Stephen and pulled him in, squeezing him as tight as he could.

"Thank you… Stephen." Tony's voice was shaky and uneven, he felt like he was nearly on the verge of tears.

Stephen was thanking him for  _ choosing him? _ After everything that Tony put him through, he was thanking Tony...

The Emperor simply couldn't fathom this.

A tear slipped unnoticed out of the corner of his eye and he smiled, squeezing him ever tighter. "Thank you for staying with me... through all of this."

“I’ll be with you for much more than this, Tony. I promise,” Stephen responded softly, pressing kisses along Tony’s neck. “Thank you for all the work you’re doing. I’ll do whatever I can to support you…”

The fingers in his hair and the steady thrum of the sorcerer’s heart against his chest were soothing, though at times he lost track of his own heartbeat and which heartbeat belonged to which of them, or whether they were beating in tandem.

“If you hadn’t married me, what would you have done?” Tony inquired quietly, his arms tight around the magus.

“It doesn’t really matter, does it? I’m here, I’m with you, I’m happy. It wasn’t my first choice, but I didn’t exactly know that you existed beyond my basic understanding of politics,” Stephen chuckled. “So I may not have chosen you before, but you are who I choose  _ now. _ ”

Tony closed his eyes and tucked his head into Stephen's shoulder, he'd welled the tears excepted for a few that managed to escape, and with that, he tried to hold them in like he held his husband so closely - arms tightly wound around Stephen's shoulders as if he'd never let him go.

"That's all that really matters to me now, cause gods know I wouldn't be able to survive without you here by my side." Tony's shaky voice rasped with strain, his entire body shook with emotion. 

Stephen was his world, and if there was anything he worked so hard to control in his life, it was the variable that kept Stephen happy and constant in his life, catering to and making him lest he fear his entire universe implode.

"I just want to do right by you," he calmed some, letting himself relax, fingers tracing his shoulders, "cause god knows you deserve it."

He did his best to live by that over the following days. Stephen may not have been in the courts for everything, but he did his best to make certain the people who had participated in Stephen’s kidnapping and abuse were dealt with. He stayed rigid, unbending in the face of the evidence that continued to mount, and allowed Stephen to help him wash it all away when his role changed from ‘emperor’ to ‘husband’ after each trial.

Stephen made every effort to help him along every evening with dinner prepared, a warm bath to help him wash away the day, and all the love in the world to purge away his insecurities.

It wasn’t easy, but it made things easier.

The nail in Obadiah Stane’s coffin came with evidence that he had worked together with an extremist faction of Vishan, making him a participant in regicide - almost twice. No matter what the crowds thought of Tony or Stephen, Howard was looked to as a strong Emperor, and Obadiah had ended his rule.

That night when he returned to the warm arms he called home, he cried. He couldn’t eat, could barely stand, and trying to explain anything to his husband felt impossible. He cried himself to sleep with Stephen wrapped around him, whispering the sweetest of nothings. He cried for his family. He cried for his husband.

He cried for himself, finally. He cried for his own losses, he cried for what was taken from him, he cried for all the broken trust. He cried, and the next morning he began everything anew.

Stephen stood at his side for Obadiah’s execution. Despite how melancholy Tony felt, the sun burned brightly overhead and Stephen looked utterly radiant in his royal robes, jewelry and gemstones glittering in the afternoon sun as he looked down over the plaza. Stephen’s hand in his gave him plenty of strength to see this done, staring sternly down at the man with a noose fitted around his neck.

Tony had opted to turn around and leave, deciding not to watch the execution. Obadiah, after all, was someone who had been constant in his life, and despite the atrocities, that wouldn't ever erase the fact that he was human and someone who worked with him so closely as a mentor and near father-figure throughout his youth. The man had helped him become who he was today, it wasn't all black and white with him.

That, however, didn't mean that Tony could ever forgive what he'd done to him, what he'd done to the Empire, what he'd done to those closest to him and most importantly, to Stephen.

_ Stephen... _

The light in his life, and he thanked god that all of this was finally over. It didn't mean that anything by any stretch would get easier, but it was a start. With Obadiah out of the picture he could finally start to heal the generation-deep wounds in the Empire, both nations and Stephen would be there to help him with that.

The treatise signing was a couple of days away and he was still raw and emotional. 

Once they'd returned to Tony's room, he collapsed on the bed, a common thing for him to do but rather than crying, he had a smile on his face. Stephen had come over to rest next to him, laying down on his side and looking over at Tony.

"It's done," he mumbled quietly, reaching a hand out which Stephen took in both his own.

"What's the next step from here?" the magus smiled, running a hand gently over Tony's cheek.

"I was hoping... after all this settles down after the treatise is signed, maybe we could have a proper wedding, you know… somewhere else..." Tony mumbled quietly, resting his hand over Stephen's.

“What if you came to Vishan? I could show you around… You could have a proper meeting with the Ancient One, see Kamar-Taj? I could show you the Sanctum I studied in, perhaps, and we could arrange something there?” Stephen offered, curling his hand around Tony’s to press a few kisses against his knuckles. 

“I can absolutely understand if you’d rather not, I know the magic thing is still… something to work on. And you’d have to talk to Rhodes and Lady Potts to make sure you were safe and taken care of…”

Tony gave that a few moments of thought, looking over Stephen’s face thoughtfully. “Will it mean seeing you all draped in jewelry and silk again?”

“... you could have me all draped in jewelry and silk here if you wanted to. I just assumed it would be easier on your subjects if I at least appeared to embrace local fashion.”

"I do miss seeing you in the colours and silks of your country. It always gave you such an exotic air," Stephen raised a brow at that before Tony finished, “plus, it's hot, okay? I'm allowed to think of my husband that way, you look good dressed in your home aesthetic."

"Every time I try to dress myself up, you just end up dressing me down," Stephen mocked playfully with a broad smile on his face. Tony mirrored that with a grin.

"Don't think you wouldn't want to see me the same way, you know I'd look damn great in that too."

"Would you?" Stephen teased and Tony deflated a bit. "I’m kidding."

The Emperor shook his head and sighed, bringing Stephen's hand to his mouth and closing his eyes as his thumb gently brushed over the magus' knuckles.

"Magic is just as much a part of my life now as it has been for yours. Just as I hope it will be in the future," Tony started, playing with Stephen's hand, looking him in the eye. "I want it to be, and hopefully just as much a part of my Empire. It's an ambitious goal, I know, but one day I hope to see it fully realized."

The Ancient One made her first appearance in Tony’s court less than a week later to ratify the treaties, and Tony couldn’t make heads or tails of the woman nor how she managed to so easily fluster his husband, but it certainly made him like her more. They drew their lines in the sand and made plans for rebuilding the villages along the border.

There was no snap of the fingers that would fix everything, even Tony knew that. It was the primary reason he turned down the offer of assistance. People were still raw, people were still sore, people were still at odds with each other, and his people did not yet trust magi; the last thing he wanted was for another fight to break out along the border due to his fearful people reacting negatively to the use of magic.

Instead, they discussed and agreed upon a trade of supplies, and at Stephen’s behest the attendant who had introduced Tony and Stephen to begin with agreed to be an Ambassador between Vishan and the Iron Empire.

The trades began with tariffs lifted if not completely abolished on essentials that had been near impossible to even afford or procure.

The Empire had many innovations to offer, brick and mortar goods while knowledge and text were exchanged from the Vishani and previously unprocurable foodstuffs were now also freely traded.

It would take time, those subdivisions closest to the border would see the most growth and new opportunities in the industry, and so would the core of the city before the influence of the trades spread outwards. Embassies would be established in the city centers of each capital, and this was all simply a start. 

Though small in size were these changes, they were sparks to fuel a potentially larger flame which would eventually maintain a bright burning inferno to lead the way into a united future.

Unlike the meetings with Obie, and war-council, the negotiations to sum up each of these agreements sparked potential and were light-hearted. Never had there been so much positive energy within the board rooms of the Iron Empire and Tony had to admit that the Vishani had a distinct charm to them he quite enjoyed. 

But hey - he was biased after marrying one of Vishan's most charming masters.


	11. Chapter 11

Vishan was nothing like he expected.

Tony had never passed much further beyond the border than the warfront, and this was considerably further than that. 

Stephen’s hand stayed curled in his to provide reassurance as Tony took in the earthy woods and bright colours of the town surrounding what Stephen had called the Sanctum.

“It’s where I studied magic,” he explained as they wandered over the cobblestone paths, barely attracting any attention with Tony clothed in more traditional Vishan clothing. The students milled around them without much care for their presence, talking amidst themselves and rushing from class to class without much thought for the strangers in their presence.

“I’m surprised no one seems to recognize you,” Tony responded. As they ascended the stairs into the Sanctum proper, he found himself admiring the intricate polished brass railings with small glowing gemstones that seemed to keep the stairs lit - he imagined at night it cast a rather soothing glow that made navigating the stairs easier.

“No reason they should. They aren’t going to see through my illusion at their level of expertise,” Stephen assured him. As he approached the doors, they swung open on their own, inviting the duo inside as if the building had a mind of it’s own. 

The flood of sunlight through the stained glass displays in the main hall left the floor an array of intricate colours, and Tony had to stop to admire them, feeling Stephen’s arms creep around his waist to hold him as the Vishanti leaned in close.

“They depict lunar and solar cycles. The designs they cast on the floor allow us to have a better understanding of when various elements are at their peaks and when they’re weak. You can see the full effect better from upstairs…”

Tony relaxed, sinking into the magus’s cradling arms. The room definitely had a very different energy to it than he'd expected to feel as he opened himself up to the sway of the magic currents within the room.

Even as a non-magic user he could still feel something distinctly different about this space; it was uplifting, energetic but also calm at the very same time. He took his time appreciating its splendor as his eyes travelled over the decorated stained-glass.

"And what would be the significance of knowing the lunar and solar cycles in terms of the magical influence?" Tony peered over his shoulder and up at his husband, and Stephen mirrored the smile.

"Ceremonies, performing certain spells of class elements. There's an array of reasons we need to keep track of this. Come, I'll show you the upper floor." Stephen gently pressed his nose into the side of Tony's face and left a gentle kiss before he slid back, hooking his pinky with the brunette's and leading him to the upper floors of the Sanctum.

Tony followed in step, shuffling quicker to stay by the sorcerer who almost seemed giddy with excitement to show off this uniquely special part of their culture to him.

They climbed a winding staircase, bright collages of colours and stained glass, cascading lights that bled through in bands of bright light until they reached the pinnacle of it all, and it was so much more glorious than any part of the library back in the Empire that Tony had ever set eyes on.

"This is… really something, and this is all built just for measuring lunar cycles? It must really be something important." Tony was as little in awe at all of it, trying to articulate his words.

“Magic is a part of us, a part of what we do and how we live. Even for the Vishani, while they can’t actively use magic themselves, the majority of the Vishani still live a life that’s ruled in some parts by magic. It used to be believed that magic was at its strongest during the full moon, and given that most women showed their strength best around the time of the full moon, it was also believed that women were the most powerful of casters,” Stephen explained quietly, looking down over the display with a contented smile.

“It’s been a long time since then, and during that time we’ve had the Ancient One to guide us as a nation. Whether anyone is more powerful than she is only she would know,” he hummed thoughtfully, “though, to my knowledge, none of the current heirs are any real match for her. Not alone, at least.”

“Are women stronger casters, then?”

“On the whole it’s fairly even, and people have shown that their strengths wane and peak at different points in the year. That’s the point of this building,” he gestured. “To help students track their waxing and waning strength. By the time someone graduates they know and will continue to know what their best times for certain duties are.”

“What about you?” Tony turned and leaned against the banister, his attention focused on Stephen with curiosity. “When is your magic most potent?”

“When I’m with you,” Stephen teased in response, curling his arms around Tony and resting his chin on his head. “I’m always strongest when I’m with you.”

Tony smiled, tilting his head up to try and look at the magus he had wrapped around him. His own arms came up to rest atop Stephen's, brushing his fingers over the sorcerer's and giving them a gentle affectionate squeeze.

"I don't think I could have picked a more suitable partner in crime, I wouldn't have been able to pull through everything we've endured if not with you by my side through it all," Tony uttered quietly through the hollow room.

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit where it's due." Stephen tilted his head down to brush his lips over the top of the emperor's head.

"I'm still not going to discredit how vital you are in my life, and how you emboldened me through such difficult times. Still, things back home aren't perfect, but it doesn't really bother me, you know? It's just one obstacle - one of many I know I can get through because I have you, and you'll have me."

"Until death do us part," Stephen let out a low rumbling chuckle and Tony felt it in his throat, smiling even wider.

Even as a near whisper, his voice carried easily through the chamber and walls around them. It was all-encompassing, and the echo tapered with a soft residual fall-off as they stood there, appreciating such a sacred and beautiful space in each other's company, warm and… perfect.

A quiet spell fell over them as they basked in the light of each other's company before Tony spoke up again.

"Is there anything I need to prepare for in terms of the ceremony? What am I going to expect?" Tony hummed, swaying some with Stephen idly.

“Oh there’s a lot you’ll need to prepare for, but not here,” Stephen responded with a warm smile, pressing a couple of light kisses to Tony’s neck. “I wanted to show you the place I’ve called home most of my life… for the rest, we’ll need to head to the capital. I expect the Ancient One is already making her own arrangements, but overall it will be easier to show you how everything works from there.”

“So… does that mean teleporting again?” Tony inquired uneasily, his stomach still a little queasy from the last time.

“No, no one teleports into the capital, it’s forbidden and prevented,” Stephen responded with a soft chuckle, “which is the other reason we came here first. So if you’re done with visiting the Sanctum we can move along…”

“I suppose we’re not exactly in a rush,” the Emperor responded quietly.

They didn’t stay much longer, regardless, as Stephen eventually led him to a room that he struggled to make heads or tails of.

“Are… the pictures moving?”

“They’re doors,” Stephen smiled warmly, “and they lead to a good many places. Though there are enchantments that can allow pictures to move.”

Tony gave him a rather perplexed look at that, and in answer the magus turned a small dial and the images shifted before he opened the door to a rain-swept coastal area, a rocky beach being pummeled by the stormy seas.

“... I can taste the salt,” Tony mused with surprise, looking at Stephen. “But that was a desert just a moment ago.”

“As I said, they lead to a good many places.”

“I thought you meant each door led to a place! Not that each door led to several places!” Tony exclaimed, immediately moving to inspect the dial, twisting it and watching the scenes change. “How does it work?”

“Magic, my love.”

“That’s a cheater’s way out, geez! Does this lead back home, too?”

“No,” Stephen shook his head, “they’re between certain fixed points, created with unique magical markers. I’ve put the same kind of shield on Ironea that’s over Kamar-Taj - there will be no teleporting in and out. We could, possibly, eventually discuss adding such a door, but that might be getting ahead of ourselves. We were on our way to Kamar-Taj?”

“Ah, right, yes, we should probably head that way. And get lunch, maybe, I’m a tiny bit peckish and curious about your cuisine.”

Stephen seemed more than eager to share some of his favourite cuisines of the capitol. Just like the sprawling architecture of the exterior, the food was easily just as exotic and different.

Vishan used a lot of very vibrant floral spices in their dishes as compared to the sharper, harder-edged spices of the Iron Empire. The meal itself was simple, a spin-off of a staple food but in its simplicity it held beauty and was absolutely amazing. The food, just like the wonderful architecture of the city, was both unique and incredibly enticing.

The buildings reminded Tony of something more coastal and southern, something inspired by the architecture of lost civilizations in fairy-tales. Buildings predominantly built and carved of stone, each gloriously embellished with mural and colour as if every part of the city down to the last stone had its place and played its part. 

Art and music was everywhere, and so much more natural and free-flowing than in the Iron Empire and the city twisted in harmony to coexist with large towering canopies of trees interspersed within the city. Where in the Empire his home was clean, brick-and-mortar, iron and rigid - it was much different here, with curves and organic shapes and pillars that seemed as though they’d grown that way rather than having been built. 

The buildings of the Vishan were organic, rustic and overgrown with greenery and there was an overall abundance of life that he'd not felt within his own city walls. Even wildlife walked the streets where neither human nor beast be bothered by the other.

This was the stuff of stories he'd only rarely heard from distant relatives of the Empire, who at the time, did have some ties with the Vishani. The stories, however, paled in comparison to the real deal and it left Tony in awe evermore to see it with his own eyes.

“Did you intend to not visit me until late tonight?” a voice called, and Tony’s eyes began to lift even as he watched Stephen bow slightly to a vaguely familiar bald woman draped in bright yellow fabrics that seemed all the more vivid in the midafternoon sun.

“Ancient One, I had meant to arrive a little bit later for the sake of-”

Her arms wrapped around Stephen before the man had finished speaking, and Tony watched his face show a little surprise before he hesitantly reciprocated.

“It is good to see you,” she stated warmly, before turning that same smile on Tony. “And you, your Imperial Highness. We are ecstatic beyond words to hear that you wish to renew your vows here, in our homeland. I do hope you’ll be joining us for dinner?”

“We did just eat,” Stephen began, though he didn’t continue as Tony rested his hand on Stephen’s arm before offering her a polite bow in return.

“We would be honoured to join you,” he responded, “and thank you for such a gracious welcome, as well as the time and energy it must have taken to arrange everything on such short notice. It seemed only right that Stephen be able to have a celebration in the manner that best suits him, after I deprived him access to family and friends during our first ceremony.”

“I believe you’ll find our ceremonies to be comparatively simplistic,” the woman smiled cheerfully, turning and making her way towards the palace, waving a fan to indicate that they ought to follow. “Much of what we accomplish during these events is done with magic, and beyond that Stephen was kind enough to send your measurements.”

“How did you get-”

“Also magic. And a keen eye,” Stephen smirked a little bit at him, and Tony huffed, rolling his eyes.

“I should have guessed. Dare I ask what else you’ve done to me with magic without my knowledge?”

“Nothing of concern, I expect. I know you’re still anxious about it all and I wouldn’t want to violate your trust that way. The magic I used for it I used on myself to give myself a better grasp of dimensions in order to discern your size. I didn’t use the magic on you in specific.”

"So I'm to assume that every time you had your hands all over me you were sizing me up, literally!" Tony jested with a quirk of his brow and a sly smile.

"You might say that," Stephen mirrored that grin with a faint hint of scarlet painting his cheeks and the Ancient One let out a soft snicker as she watched the exchange.

"Your time away from the capital has more than lightened your demeanour, you are brimming with a youthful essence I haven't seen in you for a very long time, Stephen." She smiled and continued to lead them down the halls.

Tony peered around the halls, more intricate and ornate inlay, though as much as he wanted to stare he did have some questions about the upcoming ceremony.

"Is there any sort of rehearsal, or something in which we would need to go over to familiarize ourselves - well, myself with the procession?" The Emperor inquired. Even their wedding in the Empire had been hastily expedited, normally a rehearsal was days if not weeks for a royal court and this had Tony sweating behind the ears to think about given their short notice.

"Not necessarily, our ceremonies are quite short and simple, and it will be easy to follow along." She walked onward, "I'm familiar with the order of the Iron Empire's ceremonies and the number of preparations that go into them, don't worry, there aren't nearly as many formalities as you're expecting." She winked at Tony and he looked between the two, Stephen simply smiling as if he was enjoying the way the Ancient One was unravelling the Emperor with such a lack for the formalities.

“Most of the ceremonial stuff is fairly simplistic comparatively,” Stephen agreed. “However, unlike the Iron Empire, certain things here simply occur in reflection of those getting married.” The magus gave Tony’s hand a gentle squeeze, looking at him, and then the Ancient One. “If I may… given his lack of familiarity with magic, I would like to take him to the ceremony room to let him experience the magic before the ceremony. I don’t want him to be startled, and there are enough things that simply happen during the ceremony that we can’t prepare him for,” he added.

The woman looked back at them for a moment, before setting her attention entirely on Tony. “This… is not quite how we do things here, but I can imagine Stephen has a point. Would you like to see the ceremony room before things happen?”

The Emperor gave the pair a slightly anxious look, not certain about the sound of that and vaguely concerned that perhaps he ought to have brought guards with him. Still, he took a deep breath and gave them the most winning smile he could. “Yeah, let’s take a look and see what we’ve got. I don’t want to embarrass myself, or anyone else, by reacting weirdly to something when it could have been avoided.”

He gave Stephen’s hand a squeeze, and the Ancient One gave them both a contemplative look before nodding, flipping the fan in her hand over before leading them down a rather green hallway to a pair of doors set with gold and some kind of semi-transparent crystal. The doors opened on their own as they approached, and marble flooring that seemed to have seams of wood woven into it met his gaze, with large pillars holding the ceiling and its frescos in place. 

Trusting Stephen to lead him, Tony found himself observing the beautifully painted images above his head before watching them change and move, leaving him to shift slightly closer to Stephen for a moment, before recognizing what was happening. He was there. He and Stephen both. Each individual panel of the fresco on the ceiling showed their mutual journey - from Stephen’s arrival, painted in rich blues and standing out against the red and gold of what he knew to be his throne room, through to their arrival at the Sanctum. Step by step he watched their story unfold, and as he started to lower his gaze he noticed the same frescos along the walls.

“Why…?”

“Magic,” Stephen responded cheekily.

“That wasn’t even my question!”

“Then perhaps you should finish your question,” his husband responded, giving him a warm, playful smirk.

“Why is all of this here? What’s the point of this?”

“A reminder. A story,” the Ancient One responded as she looked over the walls. “A way to let the guests who arrive for this union know what steps were taken to get you both to this point.”

“I mean, look, I’m fine with a lot of this but…” But the panels weren’t all happy. The panels reminded him of his inability to protect Stephen’s hands, of the betrayal of those in his court, and of his father’s passing.

“Most stories are not solely happy ones,” the Ancient One smiled, not looking at the paintings but focusing on him. “It’s the things that you struggle through and still accomplish together that make your relationship meaningful. Many people have only happiness, and when it comes to any sort of struggle they do not know how to make things work. They fall apart. Your story proves that you are both capable of rising above those problems and working together to make for a happy union. That’s why you’re here, is it not? Despite everything that’s happened?”

"It is," Tony looked at her earnestly. "I just- there was so much I did wrong, so much everyone else is going to see and judge me for."

"There is no worse critic than yourself. Your struggles humanize you, it chronicles your times together in a way that brings you to their level. No relationship is perfect, as you know, and if others around you can relate to those struggles then you will find it easier to reach out to them as they will you." She smiled fondly at Tony and led them both along the aisle.

They stood below the dias at the end, surrounded by an alcove of more ornate stained-glass windows that were imbued with similar magic with depictions of resembled sorcerers and monks tethered by a bright blue stretch of energy.

Tony felt a tug in his chest and froze. It was like a sort of magnetism that drew him in towards Stephen. He backed up, an odd and suspicious look on his face. 

The Ancient One simply laughed.

"It's faint, but during the ceremony, it will be stronger," she explained as if knowing exactly the source of the Emperor's discomfort. She continued with an answer as his mouth flapped open and before he could even voice his inquiry:

"This sacred ground is in some ways a beacon for energies, the altar built on its zenith, and that 'pull' you are feeling is the near-tangible essence of your emotions and feelings reaching out to connect and unify with Stephen's. During the ceremony, you'll find that feeling intensified between the both of you, and it's something very special, nothing to be alarmed by."

“This is why… I didn’t think I could explain it without simply showing you,” Stephen added, reaching a hand out to curl around Tony’s. “I don’t know how to explain magic to someone who really has no concept of it, so I thought maybe I’d just…” the magus trailed off, hesitating.

“Tony, if you don’t want to do this I’ll understand. I know this is very different from anything you’re used to.”

Tony raised his eyebrows at Stephen, then rolled his eyes as he slunk into Stephen’s space and curled his free arm around his husband’s waist. “You’re not getting out of this now, mister. And I’m not going to back out of it at this point, either, unless this turns into some séance-y bullshit, because I’m definitely not interested in dealing with ghosts.”

“The dead have no place in a union of the living,” the Ancient One responded, though she sounded oddly amused by that.

“So wait, how does this work exactly, then? Why does the magnetism not work now, but works later?”

“The combined energies of your guests empower your union,” the Ancient One explained, waving with her fan for them to follow back out of the room. “It’s their hopes for your happy union, and your mutual desire for a sustained, happy relationship that forges the bond.”

“And what if the guests… y’know… don’t like me?”

“Why do you think your relationship thus far is painted on the walls?” she responded, looking back at him. “They know that this union isn’t about them. It’s about the both of you. It’s about what you mean to each other. What happened between you and Stephen would never have worked here, they would have seen the lack of history and would not have accepted your union. But now you’ve chosen each other, and that will be plainly laid bare for all to see. It isn’t their choice to make - you’ve both already made that choice for them.”

The Emperor nodded his understanding and the Ancient One came over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I expect you will be comfortable with the arrangements now, so there will be no surprises for this eventide."

Tony furrowed his brows a bit. "This eventide...?" he tossed Stephen a questioning glance and the sorcerer shrugged helplessly.

"Yes! For the ceremony, had Master Strange not informed you that it would be tonight?"

"But we just got here?"

"And?" She gave them both a glowing smile. "What better day than the equinox to verify this union? Everyone is delighted."

"Don't you need time to get ready?" The brunette looked entirely taken off guard.

"We are, as you can see," she gestured to the chapel. "You have familiarized yourself with the ceremony and the magic you will experience... We are mere hours now from this wondrous occasion. Are you not excited?"

"I am but, this is fast even for me."

"You two are already united under the Iron Empire, this is nothing different."

"I thought we would at least have a day," Stephen began and the Ancient One approached him. 

"You have all the days ahead of you, this is just as important for us as it was for the Empire."

"Don't we need time to invite guests?" Tony inquired.

"Your guests have already been summoned, Anthony," she responded. "Our ceremonies take neither the pomp and flare, nor the many formalities to organize that the Iron Empire requires. You'll see, and none should be more excited than the two of you." She reached over and grabbed both of their hands.

Tony's shocked expression soon turned humbled, and he was smiling again. As alarmed as he was he couldn't help but sway with the warm smile and nature the Ancient One seemed to fill the room with. She was brilliant and enigmatic, a sage in her knowledge with the energy of a young spirit.

Dinner was a quiet, pleasant affair, with only the two of them present before Tony found himself whisked away by a familiar ambassador - Wong clarified that Stephen had made specific requests that he handle the situation to keep Tony at ease. The Emperor reminded himself to thank his husband for that courtesy later in the evening.

Unexpectedly, the silky Vishan outfit was unlike what Stephen had arrived in or worn, instead something of a long, simple red robe that delicately brushed the floor when he walked, and a sheer but shimmering golden sheath that seemed almost lighter than air for the way it almost floated around him. A small blue and silver clasp was delicately attached to the collar of his robe, and similarly a blue sash was wrapped around his waist, with silver clasps used to keep the robe closed.

His fingers ran over the sash and the woman helping him dress offered a soft smile. “Master Strange’s family colours,” she explained, “to hold you when he cannot.”

“... and his?”

“Of course, his robes also have a sash with your family colours. It’s… a little odd, of course, since you’re already married and thus members of each others’ families, but this is still tradition.”

Tony’s fingers continued to run over the sash as a smile snuck onto his face. “... it’s a nice thought, isn’t it?”

“I can imagine it is quite especially for you,” she nodded slightly, before stepping back. “But please, relax and have fun. This should be a joyous occasion, and we are all very happy for your union. As for me,” her voice lowered playfully, “I’m excited for wedding desserts.”

“Maya, please stop bothering him. Anne? Will you bring the jewelry please?” Wong called, and a rather petite young woman made her way over with a couple of chests.

“Master Strange has lost much of his family’s heirlooms, thus these have been provided by the Ancient One as a token… they may seem familiar,” he explained as the young woman stayed quiet and opened a couple of the boxes.

“Please choose whichever ones you like best,” she piped up softly.

The Emperor felt so undeserving at that moment. The array of jewellery was beautiful and overwhelming at the same time. Many pieces had a variety of sapphires and greens, different colours that drew his eyes and each and every one looked just as priceless as the next.

His eyes settled on a piece that resembled an eye, a bright glowing emerald gem in the center encompassed by brass arms and arches that domed over it artistically. Its nest of metal wasn't gold or any such valuable metal, but he felt undeniably drawn to this specific piece.

With the most care in the world, it was placed around his neck and set center on his bosom. His garb was adjusted and straightened with equal care before his handmaidens stepped away.

They didn't touch his hair, nor try to put any makeup on him, his robe saw the most attention and nothing else.

Butterflies collected in his chest as he swallowed the lump in his throat. True, he'd already wed Stephen but the anxiety was more in relation to the group of people who would be witnessing their union.

He had so much to fear, and he wondered if how he felt was how Stephen had when they'd done their ceremony in the Iron Empire, only recently really understanding what it could have possibly been like to be in the sorcerer's shoes.

Though, gentle voices and assurances brought him back to reality as if those around him sensed his distress, soothing him.

"There's nothing to worry about Anthony." They used his name so freely as if he was one of their own, and he knew he didn't deserve any of this considering what he'd put Stephen through.

He wanted to cry, the guilt starting to take hold - but he wasn't given a chance to get lost in it as the doors in front of him opened and the procession began.

Every feeling of doubt, sense of guilt, and every inkling of unworthiness seemed to be sucked away as he crossed the threshold into the temple. Their story painted upon the walls and ceiling and all eyes on him as he was overcome with a sense of belonging and peace.

This sacred place seeping a soothing aura into him as he walked forward - only smiles to be met as he fixed his gaze on the most important man in the world and in his life.

They locked eyes and his feet worked on their own as he approached Stephen slowly, a woman to each side of him carrying a thurible and a flower, mirrored as Stephen was accompanied by the same.

When Stephen cast a slight glance to one side, Tony followed his gaze to see Pepper, Jarvis and Rhodey sitting in the group near the front. 

Pepper gave an excited little wave, clearly more at ease in the situation than Rhodey who seemed rightfully nervous about being in the middle of the territory that once belonged to their enemies. Jarvis seemed about as pleased as Pepper, however, smiling warmly at him and giving him an encouraging nod as he met with Stephen and took his arm.

His husband gave his arm a heartening squeeze and Tony took a deep breath and smiled as the magus led him down the last bit of the aisle. Candles lit as they walked, a blue flame flickering to life to his left, where Stephen walked, and the warm familiar flames he was used to on his right. 

Somewhere in the crowd he heard the Ancient One speak:

“On this auspicious day, the day of the Autumn Equinox, we harvest the efforts and intentions we planted earlier in the year, and in our lives. We welcome the coming of longer nights knowing that we do so hand in hand with those we cherish, those who protect us, and those we protect. We do not fear the coming cold, for we have the safety and warmth of one anothers’ love to shelter us.”

As he felt that magnetism embrace him, there was no denying how much stronger it was than earlier. He stopped on the altar, his arms curling around Stephen without his really thinking about it, and he felt Stephen’s coil around him in return, holding him close as the magus’ nose buried into his hair. 

Although he knew he wasn’t talking, he felt more than heard words that reminded him of Stephen, as though they were settled deeply into his chest.

“I honour the light in you that is the love of all things; without your existence the light of the Universe would dim, and all of existence would miss you. On this day everything is in balance. There is no you and me, or this and that, instead there is just one: us, forever and always.”

The Emperor's fingers curled into the fabric of Stephen's robe, his eyes drawn closed as the incense bearers circled them in the formation and the Ancient One raised a hand to bless their union with a series of gestures over their heads.

"We have weathered this storm, and found light where only darkness was thought to exist, and in turn not only is this ceremony simply a union of two souls but two nations, their ties weaving together two halves, two sundered parts." The words slipped out of Tony's mouth and at that moment he felt like he needed to be closer to Stephen than he physically could be.

"Let the people bless this union so that it may bear more fruits for a united front in the times to come." The Ancient One spread her arms and the incense bearers once again circled before they proceeded down the main aisle leaving the two in the center.

Tony felt that magnetic pull cease, but he still felt something very different as he pulled away, both of Stephen's hands still on his own as he held on. He couldn't explain it, but he wasn't afraid of it as he stood back and the two mirrored smiles.

Unlike their marriage in the Iron Empire, the two were not invited to kiss, though that didn't stop Tony from pulling Stephen back in, hands-on his cheeks as he cupped his face and dove in for one. 

He felt Stephen's shaking fingers on his scalp, steadying there as they kept it brief enough, all smiles as there was a chime and the Ancient One lowered her hands, concluding the ceremony.

As the celebrations continued on, Tony found that he felt more truly married now than he had at home - almost certainly because they were both willing participants. The smile on Stephen’s face every time he caught his eye, the feeling of warmth knowing that those that were the most important to him in being at his wedding had been brought, even the way that Rhodey loosened up over the night and began to socialize more, even participating in some games with some of the young Vishan children. 

All of it felt right, and perfect in a way it hadn’t before. He knew the sense of perfection was an illusion, that there was more to the world and their circumstances right now and considering things ‘perfect’ overlooked what they still had to accomplish, but for the first time in a while he was genuinely happy, and felt like he was exactly where he belonged.

He wasn’t afraid of what they had to do next. How could he be? He had his friends, and his husband, to face the coming winter with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your patience and for reading! Naturally, there are things we wanted to do that were left out for the sake of a concise story, so you may have noticed little other things that never really had full conclusions, and hey, maybe we'll revisit those things one day. Who knows?

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, this story was written with two writers together! Bravehardt can be found on Twitter as [Kraionis](https://twitter.com/Kraionis) and Foxglove can be found on Twitter as [MarvelWizardMom](https://twitter.com/MarvelWizardMom)!


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